LEADERSHIP MESSAGE Partnering for Success: It’s everyone’s job Making Boeing and its supply chain more competitive— our customers expect no less In a Q&A with Frontiers, Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing vice chairman, president and chief operating officer, discusses Partnering for Success, a companywide effort with supply-chain partners to create a sustainable competitive advantage in the cost, quality and reliability of Boeing products and services. What’s the goal of Partnering for Success? We want to create the strongest, most capable and efficient supply chain in the industry. This aggressive, long-term effort aims to significantly reduce supply- chain costs while generating unmatched value for our customers and substantial mutual economic benefit for our com-pany, Boeing suppliers and all our stakeholders. Our unique “One Boeing” approach, global scale and capabilities position us to realize this vision and sustain our industry leadership. What market dynamics are driving the effort? Our customers today, and even more so tomorrow, expect more for less from our products and services, over their entire life cycle—more capability, quality and reliability, all at less cost and lower risk. Despite the great gains we’ve made in those areas over the past few years, the global marketplace is clearly telegraphing that Boeing and its partners must step up to be even 06 Frontiers March 2014 more cost competitive. On top of that, the aerospace business requires tremendous investment—much shouldered by Boeing—and the reality is that the relationship between risk and reward needs more balance. More than 60 percent of the cost of Boeing products comes through our supply chain, and, like our customers, we also expect increased affordability and focus from our partners. How are suppliers responding? About one-third of our suppliers are eager participants and have already defined plans with us to achieve targets. In many cases, that has also led to increased business volume for these partners. Another third are seriously studying how to make it work for them. And there’s a third that hopes this goes away. That’s not an option, because this is such a competitive necessity. We’re trying to engender a real, long-term partnership between Boeing and our suppliers to achieve mutual success. We know that goal is achievable. What about reports where suppliers claim we’re trying to squeeze their profits so Boeing can earn more? This is not a simple demand to cut pricing. Creating a long-term competi-tive advantage in the cost, quality and reliability of Boeing products is an enduring commitment that, first and
Frontiers March 2014 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above