The French car industry is taking quality very seriously. A recent day-long industry meeting sponsored by French suppliers’ organisation FIEV on the subject in Paris involved many of the key players in the industry to focus on the problem, and the car makers have developed some initiatives to tackle the problem.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The basic problem, according to those at the working level, is that quality still does not pervade European companies as it does the Japanese.
Suppliers said that the French carmakers are more interested in price than quality.
“In Western companies,” said Jean-Pierre Pannetier, quality director at GKN Driveline, “there is a tendency to discuss and interpret what is needed, while the Japanese apply and put in place the resources necessary from the beginning of the project.”
The Japanese companies hold long meetings at the start to make sure everyone involved understand what is wanted, he said, while calls for bids in France are thick documents that must be read. These documents are replacing competence at the automaker level to understand the work the suppliers do. “Too much risk analysis in the call for bids is unrelated to reality,” said Pannetier, and sometimes the suppliers end up understanding the document but not the vehicle that they will be supplying.
Call for more input direct from consumers
Some of the quality statistical tools have become so sophisticated that only experts can use them or understand them.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataGerard Lepoint, a FIEV consultant, said problems arise for users from basic quality tools like QS9000’s AMDEC, the methods of problem resolution and customers’ different methods for managing quality.
“Even if, fundamentally, the methods are the same, the disparity of vocabulary and the form from one client to another perturb those who aren’t quality experts, so they abandon the tools to the specialists.”
He said quality tools evolve too rapidly and have become too sophisticated, enlarging the gulf between operators and specialists and adding cost without adding quality.
“The deciders tend to use these tools as umbrellas to protect them from making decisions, which multiplies the blockages,” said Lepoint.
To improve quality, more weight should be given to reports reported by the final customer through the warranty process, said a FIEV committee.
The suppliers wanted clearer definitions of what automakers mean by reliability and guarantee, a shared understanding of what should be done to abate the risks that are identified.
Suppliers said they want more information from warranty programs. “To measure perceived quality, you have to go to the people who buy cars,” said Pierre Levi, the chief executive officer of Faurecia.
Renault said it was moving in that direction, sharing more warranty information with suppliers. This year, Renault will begin demanding that all parts replaced under warranty of the facelifted Laguna II are returned to the company where they can be closely analyzed, and the program will extend to other new products.
PSA Peugeot Citroen launches quality prize – Renault will follow
Suppliers argue, as Jean-Lucien Lamy of FCI Automotive did, that “quality is an investment, and we want a return on our investment.” They would like quality resources to be taken into consideration when purchasers let sourcing contracts. They would like the cost of non-quality to be taken into consideration.
One suggestion was that the French carmakers extend their use of quality awards.
Quality prizes are widespread in the automotive industry but rarely used in France.
“To paraphrase Napoleon when he created the Legion of Honor,” said Jean Lorotte, the head of Benteler AG in France, “everyone is proud to have a trophy. We should go in this direction.”
The OEMs appear to be following moving in this direction.
In March, a month before the FIEV quality day, PSA invited 400 people from 250 suppliers receive the company’s first-ever quality awards at an event preceeding the Geneva Auto Show.
Seven suppliers, including an Argentine manufacturer of valves, got quality awards, said Jean-Philippe Collin, purchasing director.
At Renault, “we have a project for quality prizes for our suppliers,” said purchasing director Odile Desforges. She said the timing will be announced to suppliers first.
– SupplierBusiness.com
