Mercedes pushes suppliers as part of effort to combat quality issues
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Wannabe yuppie
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Madison, WI
Mercedes pushes suppliers as part of effort to combat quality issues
Mercedes-Benz has increased pressure on suppliers to produce better parts.
The effort is part of the automaker's push to counter quality problems that have led to recalls and poor showings in customer satisfaction reports.
"Mercedes is playing hardball," says one supplier executive who attended a recent meeting with purchasing bosses.
Mercedes has written to several hundred parts makers in the powertrain sector, warning them they will face tougher quality guidelines and could lose contracts if they deliver faulty parts.
Major suppliers of electronic components also are in Mercedes' sights, and the quality initiative soon will be extended to all suppliers.
A letter obtained by Automobilwoche, the German sister publication of Automotive News, from Mercedes' purchasing quality management department warns powertrain suppliers that if random checks on their components reveal faults, Mercedes will demand daily reports from the supplier, quality checks on every part that leaves the warehouse and labels that detail a component's 20-day production history.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are not penalizing suppliers. It is a joint search for solutions and a concrete example of how our new quality offensive is being put into practice."
Mercedes initially is targeting parts makers that have triggered concern about quality during recent assessments, and suppliers that have been asked repeatedly about quality issues.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102305
Sounds good to me. Mercedes' reputation has really been tarnished as of late because of these quality issues, so it's good that they're making a public effort to fix their issues.
The effort is part of the automaker's push to counter quality problems that have led to recalls and poor showings in customer satisfaction reports.
"Mercedes is playing hardball," says one supplier executive who attended a recent meeting with purchasing bosses.
Mercedes has written to several hundred parts makers in the powertrain sector, warning them they will face tougher quality guidelines and could lose contracts if they deliver faulty parts.
Major suppliers of electronic components also are in Mercedes' sights, and the quality initiative soon will be extended to all suppliers.
A letter obtained by Automobilwoche, the German sister publication of Automotive News, from Mercedes' purchasing quality management department warns powertrain suppliers that if random checks on their components reveal faults, Mercedes will demand daily reports from the supplier, quality checks on every part that leaves the warehouse and labels that detail a component's 20-day production history.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are not penalizing suppliers. It is a joint search for solutions and a concrete example of how our new quality offensive is being put into practice."
Mercedes initially is targeting parts makers that have triggered concern about quality during recent assessments, and suppliers that have been asked repeatedly about quality issues.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102305
Sounds good to me. Mercedes' reputation has really been tarnished as of late because of these quality issues, so it's good that they're making a public effort to fix their issues.
Thread Starter
Wannabe yuppie
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 25,918
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From: Madison, WI
Mercedes-Benz announced it has been sending "hit squads" into suppliers worldwide, and is test-driving more cars as they leave the factory, in order to overcome quality problems that prompted a record recall of 1.3 million faulty vehicles last month.
Hans-Heinrich Weingarten, Mercedes' head of production, and Bill Taylor, president of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, said the carmaker had dropped a few suppliers and assigned its own engineers to many others.
The moves are part of a quality offensive designed to eliminate problems with Mercedes cars, which have cost the company $587 million in repairs. Mercedes claims cars now being produced are once more of high quality and problems are only with cars already sold.
Among other corrective measures, more cars are being test-driven as they come off the production line "so we get not only the static problems but also the dynamic problems," Weingarten said. He added that consolidation among parts suppliers has made it more difficult for Mercedes to monitor the supply chain.
While the company previously dealt with relatively small owner-run enterprises in Germany, it now buys entire systems and modules from much larger suppliers.
Mercedes is finally getting back to basics, but the damage is done. Restoring the reputation of the three-pointed star will be a long haul.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105578
Hans-Heinrich Weingarten, Mercedes' head of production, and Bill Taylor, president of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, said the carmaker had dropped a few suppliers and assigned its own engineers to many others.
The moves are part of a quality offensive designed to eliminate problems with Mercedes cars, which have cost the company $587 million in repairs. Mercedes claims cars now being produced are once more of high quality and problems are only with cars already sold.
Among other corrective measures, more cars are being test-driven as they come off the production line "so we get not only the static problems but also the dynamic problems," Weingarten said. He added that consolidation among parts suppliers has made it more difficult for Mercedes to monitor the supply chain.
While the company previously dealt with relatively small owner-run enterprises in Germany, it now buys entire systems and modules from much larger suppliers.
Mercedes is finally getting back to basics, but the damage is done. Restoring the reputation of the three-pointed star will be a long haul.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105578
I missed Sean
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 11,285
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From: Fairfield/Bridgeport CT
its about time. this has gotten out of hand and my uncle is almost off his MB trip because of it. (he currently owns a lower class AMG... heh, lower..., as well as owning a mercedes for as long as i can remember....)
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Location Location
Loyal MB owners are well loyal. My friends dad swore he would not buy another MB after his S class which spent more than 1/2 of the 2.5years he owned it in the shop. 8months later he bought a E320 for his daughter and E500 for himself :doh:
he has owned MB for the past 40years or so. Porsche is his other favorite. He admits that the new MB are utter crap when it comes to reliability but he just loves them I guess. It doesn't hurt that he usually has 4 cars at his disposal so it doesn't matter if his MB is at the dealer for 6months.
BTW both of the E-class had to go into the dealer for nearly 4weeks for various different things not working in the first 6months of ownership.
he has owned MB for the past 40years or so. Porsche is his other favorite. He admits that the new MB are utter crap when it comes to reliability but he just loves them I guess. It doesn't hurt that he usually has 4 cars at his disposal so it doesn't matter if his MB is at the dealer for 6months.
BTW both of the E-class had to go into the dealer for nearly 4weeks for various different things not working in the first 6months of ownership.
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...I really wanna get out and shoot people.