When Relationships Go Sour

No, this isn't trespassing on Carolyn Hax' or Jeanne Phillips' territory. I often find myself in a low estate, but not that low.

But, I was struck this week by the news that a "supplier problem" was shutting down General Motors' Lordstown, Ohio plant. Not the first problem at Lordstown, for sure, but these days it produces the Chevrolet Cruze, GM's red-hot seller and a symbol of hoped-for trunaround. This is not what GM and Chevy needed, what with being busy buying back Volts (another hoped-for game-changer) that reportedly spontaneously combust.

The first thoughts centered on the kinds of business interruption that floods in Thailand have caused, but this was not a case of failing to plan for catastrophe. Turns out that the supplier is having "quality problems."

Oops! What kind of supply chain partner is that? How could GM get hooked up with someone who might be vulnerable, by process or by materials, to quality issues severe enough and deep enough to take the operaton off Cruze control?

Were they not thoroughly vetted? Did a small problem grow larger because of inattention? Had the supplier no back-up or contingency plans in case of problems? Did GM exert sufficient pricing pressure to force quality risk-taking?

Who knows? But a flawed relationship is having a profound effect on performance, which could engender further fall-out in diminished consumer confidence, reduced sales, stalled momentum in the marketplace, and eroded profits.

it gets worse. Talk is that another three plants could be temporarily shuttered because of the "supplier problem." I can't think of a stronger argument for investing whatever it takes to build the right kinds of relationships with the right partners - in all aspects of life, personal and business.