News about GM and the manufacturing supplier base

Two of our respected colleagues in industry, Virgil DeLay of Diemasters Manufacturing and Bruce Baker of the Tooling and Manufacturing Association, were recently asked to vocalise a supplier's view on the ongoing GM situation. Please click on the attached link to read a CBS report and view the attached video.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/GM.Diemasters.Manufacturing.2.992963.html

Like Diemasters, it is our diversity that helps us remain strong in the recent economy. We fully support Virgil's call to his customer: "Communicate, communicate, communicate to your supply base. We're all in this together."

This seemingly simple call to action is fundamental in allowing a supply base to react to fluctuations in demand and to make the necessary adjustments for success. As a business - setting aside any political implications or societal responsibilities - it will do GM and Chrylser no good to restructure themselves for long term viability if they do not involve their business partners - the supply base - in their plans and do not talk to that base. This is true of any business at any scale.

When we began to make our decisions about transferring work to our Chicago facility from Elk Grove, many of our earliest questions and concerns were about the impact, long term and short, on both our customers and our suppliers. Once we validated that the impact would be overwhelmingly positive, the following procedures and steps became much more justifiable and logical.

"Communicate, communicate, communicate" - it's a simple message but it can make a big difference!