"There are times when supplier reps may call an engineer out of the blue and start firing questions at him or her,and if the engineer isn't prepared to answer,he may divulge information that gives the rep some leverage,"says Phil Krotz,director of Lean Supply,Rockwell Collins.To ward off such a scenario,the material and supply operation has put together a procurement and supply chain training program for its colleagues in other areas of the company.Training for design engineers,for instance,involves sessions on the benefits of taking a total-cost focus during negotiations with suppliers,dealing with highly skilled sales people and even what questions to answer or not to answer.
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