What all 12 have in common is a management team able to deliver parts or services above and beyond the call of duty, the GM group vice president said.
Several of GM’s best suppliers share another strength, Andersson likes: being good at their niche. «There are very few athletes that can compete in 10 different areas,” he said,» and there are very few suppliers that can be good in 10 areas.” Alpine Electronics Inc. is a niche supplier of navigation-infotainment and sound systems.
Alpine also supported GM, Andersson said, with a flawless launch of the Cadillac CTS navigation systems in the United States and other markets.
A supplier’s ability to work through adversity to deliver the goods played a big role at GM last year. Jack Cooper Transport Co., of Kansas City, Mo., took on a high-profile mission when 2,800 workers at Canada’s largest railway walked out on strike. Shippers across the country howled about lost train service. Ford Motor Co of Canada idled one of its assembly plants for a second time.
Jack Cooper President Greg May told Automotive News that the company responded with «night-and-day and weekend work” for half the year. The company increased by 2½ times its normal daily volume of delivery and shuttle services for GM’s plant in Delta Township near Lansing, Mich.
Andersson said Jack Cooper — which moves motor vehicles from assembly plants, ports and railway terminals to dealers — reacted quickly. The shipper also offered excess capacity for the launch of the new Chevrolet Malibu and quickly delivered the car to market.