Perspectives From A News Story
As I sit here writing this, the company I’ve been working for is winding down operations, set to close its doors in 4-6 months. In 20 years of working in the automotive industry this will be my fourth event of either a plant closing or “downsizing”. I’ve said it before and I’ll write it here…I’ve gotta get out of the automotive industry.
As so often happens with a big event like this plant closing, one can get a little maudlin and start wondering if the right choices were made. Since you’re reading this, I’m going to share my ruminations with you.
First of all, I do not regret taking the job at my present employer. There are many good things that came from my 6+ years here.
The best event for me was meeting my wife as a result me moving to take this job. My “previous life” was full of tumult, and she has been a patient and loving lighthouse to guide me through subsequent stormy events.
I work with some great people who have at times allowed me to laugh until tears came down my face; a great gift in the automotive supply business where the tears are usually from anger and frustration.
The interactions with my boss have both hardened me as well as better tuned my sense of human nature. That too is a gift because usually the two are mutually exclusive; rarely can you be emotionally hardened and still care enough to stay perceptive to how people will behave…You simply don’t care. On the flip side, often people who are tuned into human nature are too empathetic to become “cold”. Through various exercises during my tenure with him, our Plant Mgr. has allowed me to strike a better balance and it is a tool I will carry with me for a lifetime.
The people who work for me in my department have given me many challenges and taught me better skills as a manager. My managerial pendulum has swung from “country club” style to “despot” and, I believe, finally reached a good fulcrum point. They might disagree, however…
But to be sure, being an automotive supplier positively sucks, and there are reasons I make this statement:
The car companies expect suppliers to provide them the lowest bid for a program, and then provide cost downs EACH YEAR of the program! So, while our costs go up (including the price of cars), the OEM’s (car companies) get to pay less for their parts. Imagine going to a dealership and negotiating the best price you can, then telling the salesman you want a 3% decrease on your payment each year you finance the vehicle; THAT is what it’s like working with the OEM’s…Except, unlike the car salesman, we can’t laugh at the proposition, only comply if we want the business.
I have experienced many instances of poor part design or planning by the OEM’s whereby the cost of that mistake is bore by the supplier through sorts, part replacement, etc. Often the design is changed to better accommodate the fit & function, but monies are never given back to the suppliers who paid the price for the error(s). I sat in one meeting held due to a difference in interpretation of a part print whereby the (Honda) representative actually said something to the effect of “there must be something wrong with your mind”. A year or so later (and many costly sorts), Engineers from Honda acknowledged our interpretation of the print and provided a waiver for future events….We did NOT, however, receive reimbursement for previous costs incurred. By the way it should be noted that the cost of part design is high, so of course the OEM’s are now trending towards having the suppliers become designers…All part of the package for the “honor” of being an auto parts supplier.
As a result of the “trickle-down” effect, the added cost burden taken on by parts suppliers as a result of poor design, cost downs, etc. force suppliers to cut their own costs; which usually means less staff to perform the enhanced tasks the OEM’s expect in the first place. This arrangement is what the automakers call a “relationship”…The irony here is that it’s a relationship as long as suppliers do what the OEM’s tell them; it’s a vassal state complete with the king’s crushing cavalry if we DON’T fulfill on their requests.
So in a short time I’ll be cleaning out my office, shutting off the lights and reading in the paper about another plant closing...MY plant closing. To others reading the paper it will simply be another closing in a city full of them; to me it will be the end of another era with friends left behind and memories providing lesson’s learned. I keep telling myself I’m going to get out of automotive, but let’s face it, we “go where we know”, so I’ll probably be working in some other position for a parts supplier before too long. That’s too bad because as Tim McGraw so perfectly sang…”It’s too late to keep from goin’ crazy, I just gotta get away.”
I gotta get out of automotive.
As so often happens with a big event like this plant closing, one can get a little maudlin and start wondering if the right choices were made. Since you’re reading this, I’m going to share my ruminations with you.
First of all, I do not regret taking the job at my present employer. There are many good things that came from my 6+ years here.
The best event for me was meeting my wife as a result me moving to take this job. My “previous life” was full of tumult, and she has been a patient and loving lighthouse to guide me through subsequent stormy events.
I work with some great people who have at times allowed me to laugh until tears came down my face; a great gift in the automotive supply business where the tears are usually from anger and frustration.
The interactions with my boss have both hardened me as well as better tuned my sense of human nature. That too is a gift because usually the two are mutually exclusive; rarely can you be emotionally hardened and still care enough to stay perceptive to how people will behave…You simply don’t care. On the flip side, often people who are tuned into human nature are too empathetic to become “cold”. Through various exercises during my tenure with him, our Plant Mgr. has allowed me to strike a better balance and it is a tool I will carry with me for a lifetime.
The people who work for me in my department have given me many challenges and taught me better skills as a manager. My managerial pendulum has swung from “country club” style to “despot” and, I believe, finally reached a good fulcrum point. They might disagree, however…
But to be sure, being an automotive supplier positively sucks, and there are reasons I make this statement:
The car companies expect suppliers to provide them the lowest bid for a program, and then provide cost downs EACH YEAR of the program! So, while our costs go up (including the price of cars), the OEM’s (car companies) get to pay less for their parts. Imagine going to a dealership and negotiating the best price you can, then telling the salesman you want a 3% decrease on your payment each year you finance the vehicle; THAT is what it’s like working with the OEM’s…Except, unlike the car salesman, we can’t laugh at the proposition, only comply if we want the business.
I have experienced many instances of poor part design or planning by the OEM’s whereby the cost of that mistake is bore by the supplier through sorts, part replacement, etc. Often the design is changed to better accommodate the fit & function, but monies are never given back to the suppliers who paid the price for the error(s). I sat in one meeting held due to a difference in interpretation of a part print whereby the (Honda) representative actually said something to the effect of “there must be something wrong with your mind”. A year or so later (and many costly sorts), Engineers from Honda acknowledged our interpretation of the print and provided a waiver for future events….We did NOT, however, receive reimbursement for previous costs incurred. By the way it should be noted that the cost of part design is high, so of course the OEM’s are now trending towards having the suppliers become designers…All part of the package for the “honor” of being an auto parts supplier.
As a result of the “trickle-down” effect, the added cost burden taken on by parts suppliers as a result of poor design, cost downs, etc. force suppliers to cut their own costs; which usually means less staff to perform the enhanced tasks the OEM’s expect in the first place. This arrangement is what the automakers call a “relationship”…The irony here is that it’s a relationship as long as suppliers do what the OEM’s tell them; it’s a vassal state complete with the king’s crushing cavalry if we DON’T fulfill on their requests.
So in a short time I’ll be cleaning out my office, shutting off the lights and reading in the paper about another plant closing...MY plant closing. To others reading the paper it will simply be another closing in a city full of them; to me it will be the end of another era with friends left behind and memories providing lesson’s learned. I keep telling myself I’m going to get out of automotive, but let’s face it, we “go where we know”, so I’ll probably be working in some other position for a parts supplier before too long. That’s too bad because as Tim McGraw so perfectly sang…”It’s too late to keep from goin’ crazy, I just gotta get away.”
I gotta get out of automotive.
posted by Invictus | 11:08 AM
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