Lean sourcing: Automotive supplier develops protocol for cutting procurement costs

摘要

The cut-costs mantra doesn't let up in the automotive industry, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) continue to turn to their suppliers to help alleviate the margin crunch. While suppliers may already have pared their own costs down to the bone, opportunities may still exist in the gaps covered by lean sourcing applications and associated best practices. One auto industry supplier heard a different drummer and developed a homegrown solution to help its OEM partners. Pulaski, Wis.-based MCL Industries engineers and makes electrical assemblies for heavy-duty on-road and off-road vehicles. MCL's customers build in the range of 70 to 2,500 units a year.