Stop Bullying

Must be getting lazy, but I found another worthwhile editorial. This time by Wes Iversen of Quality Magazine. It says, in part:

I remember hearing about a metrology equipment vendor last fall who had delivered an order to one of the Big Three automotive manufacturers. When the payment came in, the carmaker had arbitrarily chopped 10% off the invoice amount, and basically told the vendor that was all it would pay for the equipment. Though angry and exasperated, the vendor was reluctant to protest too loudly, for fear of being cut off from future business by the carmaker.

…The results could include a serious deterioration in U.S. vehicle quality.

It goes on to talk about rekindling partnerships between OEMs and the big three. I wonder if these relationships have gotten too toxic to rekindle. We are still suffering from occasional “auctions” to get business from Delphi. It is a painful experience that leaves everyone (including the winner, I image) with loathing.

Myself, I have stepped away from a lot of advertising I used to do and wonder how this is damaging these suppliers. I guess this is a lot more like natural selection (think Animal Planet) versus kill-or-be-killed (think BattleBots) style of the big three.