Digitization and its effect on markets, production conditions, and intercompany interaction forces companies to adapt continuously in order to stay competitive. Factory equipment suppliers are especially affected by this development. Their customers expect them to digitalize their products and at the same time, request new service-based approaches in short periods. Ultimately, they are taking a new role within the automotive supply chain. With their smart products and solutions, factory equipment suppliers build the fundament to digitalize their customers. As suppliers of smart solutions, they will gain strategic importance in global value creation networks and smart supply chains. This paper examines the transformation of the equipment suppliers through the progressive networking of supply chains, using the automotive industry as an example. It shows how their new strategic role within the supply chain is developing and what requirements consequently arise.