Tier 1 suppliers call GM the worst OEM to work with
05-12-14, 04:30 PM
#1
Tier 1 suppliers call GM the worst OEM to work with
Among automakers with a big US presence, General Motors is the worst to work for, according to a new survey from Tier 1 automotive suppliers, conducted by Planning Perspectives, Inc.
The Detroit-based manufacturer, which has been under fire following the ignition switch recall and its accompanying scandal, finished behind six other automakers with big US manufacturing operations. Suppliers had issues with trust and communications, as well as intellectual property protection. GM was also the least likely to allow suppliers to raise their prices in the face of unexpected increases in material cost, all of which contributed to 55 percent of suppliers saying their relationship with GM was "poor to very poor."
GM's cross-town competitors didn't fare much better. Chrysler finished in fifth place, ahead of GM and behind Dearborn-based Ford, which was passed for third place this year by Nissan. Toyota took the top marks, while Honda captured second place.
PPI also surveyed suppliers of Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, each of which has considerably smaller manufacturing presence relative to the American and Japanese brands (there are only three US factories between the three of them). Mercedes and VW were ranked behind GM, while BMW would have been just behind Toyota.
According to Reuters, this survey serves to illustrate a big issue facing American manufacturers – Japanese brands aren't just on good terms with suppliers, but their relations are actually improving. PPI boss John Henke said the popularity of Toyota and Nissan among suppliers increased considerably, indicating that we "could be entering an era in supplier relations that doesn't bode well for the US Big Three."
The Detroit-based manufacturer, which has been under fire following the ignition switch recall and its accompanying scandal, finished behind six other automakers with big US manufacturing operations. Suppliers had issues with trust and communications, as well as intellectual property protection. GM was also the least likely to allow suppliers to raise their prices in the face of unexpected increases in material cost, all of which contributed to 55 percent of suppliers saying their relationship with GM was "poor to very poor."
GM's cross-town competitors didn't fare much better. Chrysler finished in fifth place, ahead of GM and behind Dearborn-based Ford, which was passed for third place this year by Nissan. Toyota took the top marks, while Honda captured second place.
PPI also surveyed suppliers of Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, each of which has considerably smaller manufacturing presence relative to the American and Japanese brands (there are only three US factories between the three of them). Mercedes and VW were ranked behind GM, while BMW would have been just behind Toyota.
According to Reuters, this survey serves to illustrate a big issue facing American manufacturers – Japanese brands aren't just on good terms with suppliers, but their relations are actually improving. PPI boss John Henke said the popularity of Toyota and Nissan among suppliers increased considerably, indicating that we "could be entering an era in supplier relations that doesn't bode well for the US Big Three."
05-12-14, 04:53 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
BMW would have been just behind Toyota.
05-12-14, 05:00 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
You have a generally outdated view of them....which was once true. Today, GM and Chrysler ARE competitive. Go out and see / test-drive some of their latest products for yourself.
05-12-14, 05:12 PM
#5
05-12-14, 05:26 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Among GM products, I'd recommend the 2014 Chevrolet Impala with a V6 (light-years ahead of the 2013 model), Buick Verano, Buick Regal GS, Chevrolet Sonic, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac ATS, and, to a lesser extent, the Chevrolet Malibu. The Cadillac XTS, IMO, is one of GM's few recent true flops....interior trim is nice, but it is not worthy of a flagship status in its driving manners.
05-12-14, 05:58 PM
#7
Lexus Champion
Good supplier relations is one of W. Edward's Demings 14 principles of good quality. Deming was an American statistician who became a quality guru to the Japanese following WW2. His principle #4 advocated:
There is one current and very obvious example of when this principle was NOT followed. Instead of taking the long-term perspective and trying to minimize total costs, instead, GM forced its ignition switch supplier Delphi to produce the cheapest ignition switch possible, saving less than a dollar on each switch. How much has the recall and lawsuits related to the ignition switch problem cost them -- much, much more per ignition switch than it would have cost to buy the better one in the first place?
Not only did this poor practice cost GM much more in the long run, but forcing Delphi to take the lowest price for its products pushed Delphi into bankruptcy.
Japanese companies have long been believers and followers of Deming (Toyota among them) but American companies are still learning. It is ironic that it took an American to teach the Japanese about quality.
End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.
Not only did this poor practice cost GM much more in the long run, but forcing Delphi to take the lowest price for its products pushed Delphi into bankruptcy.
Japanese companies have long been believers and followers of Deming (Toyota among them) but American companies are still learning. It is ironic that it took an American to teach the Japanese about quality.
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05-12-14, 06:06 PM
#8
Driver School Candidate
My wife and I just sold our company we ran for almost 25 years. We were very successful, and since 1988, we've been a supplier to Toyota. Since 1992, Tier 1. A great customer, indeed. We worked very hard to meet and exceed their tough requirements with several awards from several Toyota facilities in North America.
Over the years, we've been asked to supply GM, federal and State governments. I always said, " no thank you", and glad we never climbed into bed with GM, or the government.
Over the years, we've been asked to supply GM, federal and State governments. I always said, " no thank you", and glad we never climbed into bed with GM, or the government.
05-13-14, 02:44 AM
#9
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
Ironically, GM's status as by far the most vertically-integrated of the Big Three automakers means the suppliers would have been least impacted by a GM bankruptcy or even liquidation. Unfortunately, as we all know the gov decided on a bailout instead, and well... there's a reason the taxpayers had to foot the $11.2 billion loss on that decision. Too bad this survey shows things haven't changed culturally within GM since then.
05-13-14, 08:25 AM
#10
My wife put her phone charger into the 12v port on the dash, and when I shifted into Park, I crushed my hand on it. This is just absolutely terrible design, as if no one ever even sat in a mock-up of the cockpit and tested the ergonomics of it.
The seats also seemed to trap every ounce of heat and radiate it back to me. Whoever thought a puffy, foam-filled cloth insert was better than sticking with the synthetic leather on the rest of the seat, once again, probably never sat in the thing.
Materials may be better, quality may be improving, but that doesn't mean GM is making "good cars".
Last edited by Infra; 05-13-14 at 08:28 AM.
05-13-14, 09:11 AM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
The seats also seemed to trap every ounce of heat and radiate it back to me. Whoever thought a puffy, foam-filled cloth insert was better than sticking with the synthetic leather on the rest of the seat, once again, probably never sat in the thing.
Materials may be better, quality may be improving, but that doesn't mean GM is making "good cars".
05-13-14, 10:23 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
For the price, yes. Its interior and overall workmanship is a huge jump from the Cavalier and Cobalt it replaces (the Cobalt was also plagued with that defective GM ignition-switch). But the Cruze has not entirely shook off the Cobalt's reliability problems.
05-13-14, 11:28 AM
#14
it is always the same with GM... it all looks good on the surface, then few years later :-).
Chevrolet lineup in UK was rated the worst in for dependability in latest survey. This was mostly small Chevy's like Cruze and Spark, so GM Daewoo and not Opel re-badges.
Chevrolet lineup in UK was rated the worst in for dependability in latest survey. This was mostly small Chevy's like Cruze and Spark, so GM Daewoo and not Opel re-badges.
05-13-14, 12:41 PM
#15
Lead Lap
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This has been one of those poorly kept, open secrets in the industry for ages. But it's still funny to see more and more evidence that GM never changed with the BK, like I knew all along.