Strategic Supply Chain Management - Supply Chain Online

General Motors Profile:
Driving Customer
Satisfaction
Faced with declining market share and a changing industry, General
Motors (GM) launched an ambitious effort that transformed its supply
chain and made customer satisfaction a priority.
In the late 1990s, the Internet seemed poised to transform the automobile
industry. Consumers armed with information could quickly compare
prices, options, quality, and service—and make more informed choices.
New business models threatened to squeeze industry margins and disrupt
the long-standing original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-dealer relationship.
General Motors observed these changes warily.
The world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, GM has revenue of
$185.5 billion, production facilities in 32 countries, and a workforce
of about 325,000. In 2003, the company sold more than 8.6 million cars
and trucks—about 15 percent of the global vehicle market. Despite its
size and clout, though, GM had seen its global market share erode from
17.7 percent in the early 1990s to 15 percent in 2002 mainly due to declining
levels of customer satisfaction and competition from foreign imports.
The industry had changed.
In the 1970s and 1980s, GM alone decided what products to make—
with little input from dealers or customers. Explains Harold Kutner, group
vice president of worldwide purchasing and production control and logistics
at the time, “We were an arrogant company. We had an attitude of ‘we’ll
make it, and the customer will take it.’” This attitude typified the “Big
Three” automakers at the time. Running plants at full capacity was the name
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