rmc523 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-gets-serious-with-suppliers-amid-ongoing-quality-issues/ According to Crain's Detroit Business, Ford is cracking down on supplier quality and costs by placing companies that exhibit quality issues on a "no bid" list for future contracts, as well as requiring others to submit three-year cost savings plans to prevent a similar outcome. The Blue Oval is requiring certain suppliers to enter what's known as "total value management" plans (TVMs), which require a certain percentage of cost savings on the overall supplier business every year. TVM programs are nothing new nor uncommon, as automakers generally bind suppliers to meet certain quality and cost savings targets in that manner. What makes Ford's TVMs unusual, however, is that it's stepping up the enforcement of its multi-year requirement, and even pulling business from suppliers that don't reach some sort of agreement with the company. At the same time, Ford was quick to point out that this is not a new policy, and that enforcing TVM programs are part of its broader efforts to improve quality and reduce costs in order to better "compete in a rapidly changing and complex industry." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 1 hour ago, rmc523 said: https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-gets-serious-with-suppliers-amid-ongoing-quality-issues/ According to Crain's Detroit Business, Ford is cracking down on supplier quality and costs by placing companies that exhibit quality issues on a "no bid" list for future contracts, as well as requiring others to submit three-year cost savings plans to prevent a similar outcome. The Blue Oval is requiring certain suppliers to enter what's known as "total value management" plans (TVMs), which require a certain percentage of cost savings on the overall supplier business every year. TVM programs are nothing new nor uncommon, as automakers generally bind suppliers to meet certain quality and cost savings targets in that manner. What makes Ford's TVMs unusual, however, is that it's stepping up the enforcement of its multi-year requirement, and even pulling business from suppliers that don't reach some sort of agreement with the company. At the same time, Ford was quick to point out that this is not a new policy, and that enforcing TVM programs are part of its broader efforts to improve quality and reduce costs in order to better "compete in a rapidly changing and complex industry." Seems like a tall order, improve your quality, and do it for less🤔 How many of the recalls are related to an outsourced component failure? Back in the days of a more vertically structured company I would imagine the quality and the cost were viewed by the same people seeking the best resolution on both counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader 10 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 2 hours ago, rmc523 said: https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-gets-serious-with-suppliers-amid-ongoing-quality-issues/ According to Crain's Detroit Business, Ford is cracking down on supplier quality and costs by placing companies that exhibit quality issues on a "no bid" list for future contracts, as well as requiring others to submit three-year cost savings plans to prevent a similar outcome. The Blue Oval is requiring certain suppliers to enter what's known as "total value management" plans (TVMs), which require a certain percentage of cost savings on the overall supplier business every year. TVM programs are nothing new nor uncommon, as automakers generally bind suppliers to meet certain quality and cost savings targets in that manner. What makes Ford's TVMs unusual, however, is that it's stepping up the enforcement of its multi-year requirement, and even pulling business from suppliers that don't reach some sort of agreement with the company. At the same time, Ford was quick to point out that this is not a new policy, and that enforcing TVM programs are part of its broader efforts to improve quality and reduce costs in order to better "compete in a rapidly changing and complex industry." Other manufacturers aren’t having anywhere near the issues with supplier quality as Ford, which leads to the conclusion that Ford is designing inferior parts to be manufactured or is squeezing suppliers to the point that quality control is significantly compromised. Most likely some of both and/or Ford is the world’s worst at selecting suppliers. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKohnen Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I suspect more manufacturers have supplier quality issues than they let on, they're just not putting recalls out there to resolve them. Ford has been hyper-aggressive about recalls, most brands aren't. Fun fact in that, many parts on vehicles come from common sources. One manufacturer would be making the bulk of the "whichever widget" for all the brands, they just adjust the shape and style. Case in point - the rear parking sensors are identical from the most budget vehicle equipped up through luxury brands. Wiring ends may differ, but the sensors themselves are the same. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 (edited) On 5/14/2026 at 11:21 AM, Trader 10 said: Other manufacturers aren’t having anywhere near the issues with supplier quality as Ford, which leads to the conclusion that Ford is designing inferior parts to be manufactured or is squeezing suppliers to the point that quality control is significantly compromised. Most likely some of both and/or Ford is the world’s worst at selecting suppliers. Yea, correct on all counts. Everything you described was the case when I worked at the former Indianapolis Steering Systems plant - both when it was operated by Ford and when it became part of Visteon. And we had TVMs back then. Plante Moran’s WRI last year found that Ford was the only OEM among the six they studied to worsen every year since 2020. The 2026 survey results come out soon. It will be interesting to see if Ford finally improved relations with suppliers or not. Edited May 16 by morgan20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 Sounds like the only solution is for suppliers to push back and if necessary walk away before Ford gets the message. I hope more vertical integration eliminates a lot of these issues. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 (edited) None of this would be an issue if Ford just did its job properly and watched suppliers more closely. How many years has Ford been at this and they still can’t get it right…. Edited May 16 by jpd80 Annoying typo from autotext 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 9 hours ago, jpd80 said: None of this would be an issue if Ford just did its job properly and watched suppliers more closely. How many years has Ford been at this and they still can’t get it right…. They are watching more closely and finding problems a lot earlier, but that's not the problem. Not everything shows up on inspection like not properly heat treating valves. They need to put the engineers in charge of procurement instead of the finance team and start paying a little more for better quality. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 On 5/14/2026 at 11:18 AM, Bob Rosadini said: Seems like a tall order, improve your quality, and do it for less🤔 How many of the recalls are related to an outsourced component failure? Back in the days of a more vertically structured company I would imagine the quality and the cost were viewed by the same people seeking the best resolution on both counts. Yes, agreed. These parameters seem to be mutually exclusive. I believe Ford has culpability in the quality of the parts coming from suppliers, but want to lay blame solely at the supplier’s feet. Of course there are suppliers that have built parts out of spec that need to be held accountable, but who provides the specifications for the parts to begin with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 (edited) 19 hours ago, akirby said: They are watching more closely and finding problems a lot earlier, but that's not the problem. Not everything shows up on inspection like not properly heat treating valves. They need to put the engineers in charge of procurement instead of the finance team and start paying a little more for better quality. I get what you’re saying but equally you allude to quality checks and in particular the right ones for early detection. Things like heat treatment require short notice spot checks to make sure valve treatment is actually done and signed off. Quality Assurance, not Quality Control. Edited May 17 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeg Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Having been on the supplier side with Ford as a customer, they were about the worst to deal with. With us having increasing raw material costs, they wanted very aggressive annual price cuts. With other issues, we put them on our no quote list. They still bought from us, but through a third party and often the third party would go under. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.