D
Hi all,
We are a small company with 25-35 employees manufacturing parts for the Automotive industry. 8% of sales ($250,000)are with Ford. Recently Ford did an assessment of our plant and said we qualify for Q-1 upon completion of achieving TS, which is 88% complete and should be done next year. Ford wants to give us Q-1 'X' now, and does not understand my reluctance. I see more paperwork and a draining of human resources as the cost of Q-1. Our Ford sales will be unaffected. Asking others revealed a customer who had Q-1 for several years (and $80 million sales with Ford) and dropped it as part of their paperwork improvement (reduction) plan as part of TS! They also got more inquirys from others now that the Ford flag was gone. They do more business than ever with Ford. So, beyond bragging rights, what is the pro side? Staying nimble in response to customers is our goal and maintaining Q-1, especially with a small company like ours, seems unrealistic.
Any similar experiences out there one way or the other??
Thanks, Diecuts
We are a small company with 25-35 employees manufacturing parts for the Automotive industry. 8% of sales ($250,000)are with Ford. Recently Ford did an assessment of our plant and said we qualify for Q-1 upon completion of achieving TS, which is 88% complete and should be done next year. Ford wants to give us Q-1 'X' now, and does not understand my reluctance. I see more paperwork and a draining of human resources as the cost of Q-1. Our Ford sales will be unaffected. Asking others revealed a customer who had Q-1 for several years (and $80 million sales with Ford) and dropped it as part of their paperwork improvement (reduction) plan as part of TS! They also got more inquirys from others now that the Ford flag was gone. They do more business than ever with Ford. So, beyond bragging rights, what is the pro side? Staying nimble in response to customers is our goal and maintaining Q-1, especially with a small company like ours, seems unrealistic.
Any similar experiences out there one way or the other??
Thanks, Diecuts