Suppliers consider Porsche one of the best OEMs to work for, along with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, according to the results of the SupplierBusiness 2008 OEM-Supplier relations survey.
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SupplierBusiness has published the details of the Porsche survey as a preview of its full report due out soon.
According to the survey, suppliers say that they are likely to make an acceptable return on their investment in supplying components to Porsche which ranked ahead of Mercedes on this point, and level with BMW.
Porsche is seen as more willing to pay for development costs than its competitors, its payment terms are perceived as better, and the company is also almost as willing as BMW to reward cost saving ideas. This is an improvement over last year.
Suppliers regard Porsche as thorough and conscious of their needs relative to its competitors. It is seen as far ahead of its rivals in terms of protecting intellectual property and in its thoroughness in launching new products. Price negotiations are seen as far less time-consuming than at Porsche’s competitors.
Porsche is viewed as demanding when it comes to validation of parts and the standard of testing these parts must adhere to, compared to its competitors. This is in line with previous years’ results on this question.
Porsche’s reputation for being demanding on technology has diminished somewhat. While Mercedes and BMW have improved their reputations in 2008 compared to 2007 (albeit at different rates), Porsche is seen as less demanding on such issues compared to competitors. This is a significant change, as only the year before, Porsche was seen as the most demanding of the three.
Despite the positive ratings, Porsche suppliers are not optimistic about future projects with the company. Porsche suffers in comparison to its competitors when suppliers are asked about their long-term prospects and which they would like to do more business with. When asked which they believe they will be doing business with in three years’ time, Porsche lags well behind rivals Mercedes and BMW. All the major German brands have seen the desire for suppliers to work with them recede from the previous year in this survey. But it is Porsche that has seen the largest decline in this area. Whilst their reputation has risen overall, the desire for suppliers to continue working with them has fallen.
SupplierBusiness
