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To alleviate surprises for our Strategic Business Relationship customers and stay ahead of the market, our internal procurement process is based on carefully selected “key” manufacturers who are leaders and innovators in their core areas. We seek out manufacturers who have the financial strength to commit to R&D, capacity to handle our demand, and have the discipline to drive lowest total cost manufacturing.
We have refined this process since the late 70s and see it as one of the primary reasons why we consistently out perform our competition and satisfy our customers in the markets we serve. The end result is that our vendors know that we expect them to provide not only competitive, but innovative solutions and a safe, reliable source of supply for our customers.
When working with our alliance customers we first start by determining who their primary vendors are and the reasons they are a valued vendor. We then work with those manufacturers who can best serve our alliance customers’ requirements, regardless of our preexisting relationships. We work to bring the vendor relationship up to the standards necessary in an alliance relationship.
We define those standards in our Memorandum of Understanding which we use as a tool to communicate and agree upon a set of standard philosophies and practices with our manufacturers before they will be considered a full alliance vendor.
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