Early Supplier Integration in the Design of the Skid-Steer Loader
Question 1:
As indicated in the case story, Deere & Company was standing in front of the turning
point in skid-steer loader designing and production process, marked by the decision to
develop and control production directly instead of outsourcing from another third party.
The key point here is that we have to make our product feature and variety different
from other competitors at a lower cost (20% lower), it also means order winning
standards should be turned into quality and cost. These two criterion shall have major
impacts on judgment on screened integrate suppliers.
Firstly, I suggest that we scan the entire list of existing suppliers in local area, which
have a long history and abundant experiences in researching and developing agricultural
equipment’s components. Next step is looking into the manufacturing process
characteristics of those providers; in my opinion in this case the choice of a supplier that
conducts production in continuous or assembly line will bring more advantages.
