I have read again and again over the past several years about how China and the rest of the world are beating the pants off of U.S. suppliers, and how U.S. suppliers can't make a buck anymore. Well, I work in the purchasing department of an OEM in the southeastern United States, and despite the efforts of our company to educate our suppliers in the cultural mindset of lean manufacturing and kaizen, it just does not seem to sink in. Oh sure, when I visit a supplier and discuss what I see, and make suggestions, countless promises and assurances are made that the 5-Ss are about to be implemented and plans are in the works for kaizen improvements...and I am ushered out the door feeling warm and fuzzy.
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