Internet trust-building keys supply chain initiative
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 8/1/1998
Chicago, Ill.-- While renowned for its independence, Harley-Davidson Motor Co. recently joined with several of its suppliers in a collective business effort to solve supply chain problems.The motorcycle company is part of a new program that uses the Internet to build trust and cooperation among manufacturers and suppliers. The goal is for all links in the supply chain to function as an integrated system, as Harley-Davidson and three suppliers focus on improving the quality and timeliness of their products.
Mike Doyle, chairman of the National Initiative for Supply Chain Integration, Ltd., a non-profit organization that launched the formal initiative, says insufficient trust is the first roadblock that must be overcome to fully integrate supply chains. He says NISCI's purpose is to "find ways to cause each member's supply chains to function more as one integrated system."
Harley-Davidson and three suppliers -- Allied Die-Casting, Southwest Metal Finishing and RAM Tool, Inc. -- collaborate to develop improved processes, tools and environments. Leroy Zimdars, director of development purchasing for Harley-Davidson, says his company could only improve efficiencies so far working with its tier-one suppliers alone. "We know we can't reach our performance goals unless we join in a collective effort to further identify problems and develop standard solutions that can be implemented across the supply chain," he says.
"We're on the Internet, meeting face to face, tier one, two and three," says Roy Kannenbert, president of RAM Tool, Inc., a tool and die shop in Grafton, Wis. Since April, his company, its steel supplier and customers have worked on items such as using improved steels and implementing better processes.
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