... Tomorrow the world

Abstract

The pressures of legislation and customer demand on component suppliers do not change, they only increase in severity. Hella and Jet Filters, the two recent winners of Nissan's Supplier of the Year award provide some early thoughts on what it will take to secure contracts from carmakers in the next millennium. The two suppliers message is: to be considered in the future, it needs to offer a complete service with total effort being directed around the carmakers' requirements. The drive for zero defects, black box design, just-in-time shipment, productivity-based pricing, long-term agreements, continual improvement and globalization are just a few of the buzz phrases that will ring in suppliers' ears over the next few years.