You’ve already got enough on your plate making sure your suppliers are making the grade. But if you let this other group fly under the radar, you could pay a hefty price, just like this company did.
Recently, Aston Martin announced that it was recalling most of the cars it produced since 2007 due to issues with the brake pedal. It seems the brake pedals could be prone to breaking.
All told, the recall will involve about 17,590 vehicles. This new recall expands one that was initiated in October and replaces one that took place last May.
Luckily for the automaker, there have been zero reports of injuries, despite 22 accounts of part-failure.
Put yourself in their shoes
While the number of vehicles involved in the recall isn’t as astronomical as some that we’ve seen from other automakers lately, it still accounts for about 75% of the cars Aston Martin has produced during that time frame.
And having to bring back three-quarters of the products it built during a seven-year stretch would probably be enough to keep most manufacturers up at night.
So what landed Aston Martin in this unenviable position?
It looks like the problem with the potentially breakable-brakes originated with one of Aston Martin’s supplier’s supplier’s suppliers – or more simply-put: a third-tier supplier.
Root of the problem
Following an investigation into the defective brake pedals, Aston Martin traced the issue back to Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co. Ltd., which is based out of southern China.
The company was contracted to mold accelerator pedal arms. However, Aston Martin found that it was using counterfeit DuPont plastic instead of the real thing, which was leading to the issues.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, an official from Kexiang heaped a giant spoonful of insult onto the already existing injury in an interview with the People’s Daily, a Chinese newspaper.
The official was quoted as saying that his company’s cramped workspaces and aging equipment prevented it from taking orders from companies as large as Aston Martin.
No matter what way you slice that quote, (is it an official trying to cover his company’s tracks or trying to feign innocence?) this is clearly a company that Aston Martin probably wouldn’t want to do business with if it had the choice.
The future could be bleak
The fallout from this one could have far-reaching effects for Aston Martin.
For one thing, according to some experts, the automaker has already struggled in recent years to keep pace with rival European car manufacturers.
The company can’t match the deep pockets of BMW or Volkswagen, putting new product lines at risk.
The last thing it needs is a recall of this magnitude stretching its resources.
In response to the situation, both Aston Martin and DuPont have deployed quality control representatives to China.
Their goal will be to supervise the production of the pedal arms to ensure that only genuine DuPont plastic is being used in the manufacturing process.
And Aston Martin has also announced plans to end their contracts with the subcontractor at the center of this headache and shift production to the U.K.
Is there a Chinese ‘blame game?’
So is this just another case of China’s widely-criticized manufacturing standards coming into play?
Not so according to the Chinese media.
According to some reports, the local media has chalked this one up to Aston Martin playing the “Chinese blame game.”
Local reports have also called out the carmaker for “passing the buck” and using China as an easy “scapegoat” for its own problems.
A bigger issue at play
Of course, from where things stand now, these reports seem more like deflection than anything else. The Chinese sub-sub contractor seems to be clearly at fault for using counterfeit material that was being passed-off as a DuPont product.
However this case does appear to be a symptom of a much larger problem for manufacturers who rely on far-flung suppliers.
And we’re not just talking about Chinese suppliers, either.
The more links a supply chain has and the more miles it covers, the harder a manufacturer’s task becomes to keep tabs on it.
Some keys to staying safe if you can’t go visit with a far-off supplier:
- Put quality in the contract. Set up your contract so that you’ll be able to pay after you’ve received an entire order, have inspected it at your facility and are certain that it meets your standards.
- Keep you head on a swivel. Even if a first shipment arrives in top notch condition, there’s always the risk of slippage. The only way to prevent that is to inspect every order you receive like it’s the first one. Keeping your inspectors from letting down their guards will keep the suppliers from doing the same.
- Have back-up options ready and waiting. If something does go wrong, make sure you’ve got coverage to prevent problems from trickling down to your customers.
What strategies do you use to manage distant suppliers?
Let us know in the comments section below.
