Chapter 4:  Quality in Customer-Supplier                      Relationships

What is the story about IBM’s request to accept 300 defective parts per million?

Based on one opinion, what is the best retail organization in the U.S.?

A.    Customer-Supplier Relationships and Total Quality

How does the customer-supplier chain work?

 

1.        The Importance of Customers

 

The Insolent Night Clerk (156)

Southwest Airlines (158)

 

2.       The Importance of Suppliers

The final product is no better than the parts that go in it

 

Company-wide efforts

 

Design through distribution

 

Partners

 

B.     Principles for Customer-Supplier Relations (CSR)

First:  The strategic importance of customers & suppliers

 

  Second:  Develop win-win relationships between customers and suppliers

 

  Third:  Establish trust

 

·         Customers in the Fine Arts (160)

 

*      The Boomerang Principle (161)

 

1.        Practices for Dealing with Customers

  1. Collect Customer Information

 

·         The Good, Bad, and the Ugly (165)

 

  1. Disseminate Customer Information

 

  1. Use Customer Information

 

  1. Manage Customer Relationships

 

     ·      Gambling for Customers (168)
 

E.  Exploit CRM Technology

 

      *  Tsutaya Online - Building Personal Customer Relationships

 

F.  Don't Ignore Internal Customers

 

 

2.       Practices for Dealing with Suppliers

Guiding Principles:

 

 

  1. Base Purchasing Decisions on Quality

 

  1. Reduce the Number of Suppliers

 

  1. Establish Long-Term Contacts

 

  1. Measure and Certify Supplier Performance

 

  1. Measure Cooperative Relationships and Strategic Alliances

 

C.     Quality Customer-Supplier Relations in Action

 

D.     Cases

 

1.        The Case of the Missing Reservation (160)

 

2.       Gold Star

 

3.       Pauli's Restaurant and Microbrewery