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Firefighter isn’t listed among Jody Scrivner’s official duties as Director of Sourcing at Stryker. That doesn’t mean she isn’t called upon to douse the flames of occasional flare-ups with the company’s suppliers.
That happened recently when a supplier shifted 60% of Stryker’s standing orders to other accounts. Supply chain shuffling is to be expected, but the supplier didn’t pull back the supplies needed to fill Stryker’s urgent orders as requested by a member of Scrivner’s buying team. Or so Scrivner thought.
“I assumed the buyer had pushed back and asked challenging questions,” she said. “The buyer requested to have the order adjusted, but didn’t relay the urgency of our needs and backed down when told of the situation.”
The entire episode likely could have been avoided if the buyer had communicated clearly and assertively. It’s indicative of how relatively minor misunderstandings can devolve into large issues when OEMs and suppliers aren’t on the same page.
With that in mind, here are several ways to keep the interests of both teams aligned during manufacturing projects, from design concept to product launch.
Set early expectations. During pre-production meetings with new OEM clients, Lowell Inc. addresses design for manufacturability (DFM) concerns — everything from how parts are packaged to inspection methods. Lowell’s quality manager participates in pre-production meetings to ensure all stakeholders are focused on a common goal.
“We confirm that our inspection methods, including the requirements and types of measurement tools used, align with those of the OEM,” said Phil Allen, Sales and Marketing Director at Lowell. “If there’s disagreement, we agree on how to move forward to address the issues before the project begins.”
The company’s NPI (new product introduction) team meets regularly to review the status of a project, review the task checklist created during the pre-production meeting and communicate open items or issues to the OEM.
It’s not a perfect process — unforeseen issues arise during any project involving complex orthopedic devices — but the pre-production meeting ensures projects begin with a solid plan to move forward.
Check in regularly. High-level communication should continue throughout the duration of a project. “Maintain constructive and transparent feedback to talk about what’s working — and what’s not,” Scrivner said.
Stryker’s sourcing division spends about $200 million a year on product development, $45 million of which goes to a single supplier. Two suppliers account for $30 million of the budget and several others that are paid between $3 million and $4 million round out the list of Stryker’s top partners.
The cadence of check-in meetings largely depends on the size and budget of the project. “Higher spends typically translate into higher volumes of open orders,” Scrivner said. “We prioritize those accounts and meet with them weekly to ensure everything is on track.”
A separate sub-team handles open order calls for new product introductions. “This keeps our sustaining business and new product business separate to avoid confusion,” Scrivner said.
Lowell takes a similar tack. The company assigns a manufacturing engineer to every project and holds weekly meetings with manufacturers to track its progress. “We review each line item on the project’s timeline and issues that come up are addressed immediately,” Allen said.
“Weekly meetings keep projects on track and ensure stakeholders are informed and engaged.”
Don’t fall into a false sense of security if projects seem to be going according to plan. “The assumption that everything is fine without checking in can lead to problems,” Scrivner said.
Create accountability. Scrivner sends weekly open order reports to suppliers to fill out and return. Suppliers are required to provide root causes for pushouts so Scrivner’s team can make sure they’re caused by legitimate concerns.
“We want suppliers to be transparent with us about how their business is running and why they’re behind schedule,” she said. “This allows us to understand the situation better and ensure that everything is under control.”
As the unexpected shift of Stryker’s needed supplies showed, the intended message isn’t always delivered. “Lack of constructive tension impedes progress,” Scrivner said. “Transparent dialogue and respectful conversations must take place to hold both sides accountable and maintain a consistent standard of performance.”
Scrivner believes OEM leaders should meet with their buyers, ask challenging questions and participate in occasional calls with suppliers to monitor the performance of the internal and external stakeholders. She’s known to ask suppliers questions to which she already knows the answer so the buying team on the call with her takes note of the language they should be using.
OEMs should be direct and assertive with their line of questioning when issues arise with suppliers, according to Scrivner. What is the status of the order? How much processing time is left? Can you make adjustments to meet our needs? Do I have to give up another order to get another one sooner? These types of questions garner informative responses.
“Suppliers are generally willing to comply with requests if they’re told what’s wrong and what needs to be changed,” Scrivner said. “However, buying teams can be hesitant to assert themselves, possibly due to embarrassment or a lack of knowledge about the project’s details or their expectations.”
Scrivner said maintaining constructive and transparent internal feedback allows team members to develop the language and thick skin they need to have the same productive conversations with external customers.
“Set an example by asking team members detailed questions about projects and encourage them to have constructive dialogue with outside customers,” Scrivner said. “We conduct regular feedback sessions with team members to improve how they communicate with suppliers so they don’t rely on senior managers and directors to monitor every call.”
Scrivner can tick off a list of examples when open communication was critical to her team’s success. She expects the same level of transparency and accountability with suppliers. “They need to speak up if we’re doing something wrong, and we need to reciprocate,” she said. “Ultimately, everything boils down to communication and mutual accountability.”
Trust the process. Develop standardized project management practices and stick to them. “The importance of our process discipline is reflected in our approach to developing product schedules,” Allen said. “We begin by determining the end date when the customer needs the required parts and then work backward to calculate the manufacturing time and level of difficulty involved.”
For example, a multi-component assembly for a cervical plate might require machining in multiple areas, which needs to be synchronized to meet the delivery deadline.
“We have gained significant experience in manufacturing complex parts and ensuring they fit together seamlessly,” Allen said. “However, this process can be challenging as it involves programming, inspection and paperwork. We’ve learned to manage the numerous steps involved in complex projects through years of experience.”
Lowell is focused on automating internal processes to improve efficiency and productivity. “The goal is to streamline the entire organization to make us more competitive and responsive to the needs of our customers,” Allen said. “Despite being a small company, we’re investing significant time and resources into the effort.”
Make it personal. Most members of Scrivner’s staff work remotely. When she encourages them to schedule in-person meetings with suppliers, they quickly realize the true value of face-to-face meetings.
“A new purchasing manager recently pushed back against joining me on a supplier outreach, but expressed gratitude for being forced to come along,” Scrivner said. “He told me that meeting the suppliers he speaks with on a regular basis gave him a better sense of who they are as people and helped how they communicated about project needs. Meeting with suppliers helps to build trust and transparency, which are crucial in business relationships.”
Improving the level of communication between OEMs and suppliers comes down to understanding the needs of the other party. “Every customer is different and each one expects projects to progress in different ways,” Allen said. “It’s best to catalog their expectations on the front end and maintain open lines of communication to ensure you meet them. Customers appreciate that level of attention and collaboration.”
