Ford purchasing chief says US supplier constraints slowing production, wants to reduce supplier count

Company seeking common parts across different vehicle segments that can be leveraged for regional scale and lower cost.

Ford's vice-president of global purchasing Hau Thai-Tang says Ford is looking to reduce its supplier count by 40% according to a Bloomberg report. Ford buys about 80% of its parts from its largest 100 suppliers, and had 1,260 at the end of 2012. Separately, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is reporting that Thai-Tang says supplier constraints are slowing production and causing quality problems. Thai-Tang told reporters that one of the company's programmes is operating at "yellow" because some suppliers are working flat out, leaving no room for error and no ability to increase production, as they try to keep up supply.