Working with Suppliers

We have been working hard to strengthen our global supply base. We have instituted a number of business practices with our key suppliers designed to increase collaboration, provide for data transparency and expand the volume of business with select suppliers, while building a more sustainable business model.

We have reduced the total number of global production suppliers eligible for major sourcing from Ford from 3,300 in 2004 to approximately 1,600 today, with a further reduction to 750 suppliers planned. In our U.S. operations, we have paid specific attention to strengthening our minority and women suppliers – which currently account for about $4 billion of our annual $35 billion in purchases from U.S. supplier locations. Our consolidation efforts have resulted, and will continue to result, in more business for our major suppliers, which will increase their financial strength.

Moreover, as we move aggressively to global vehicle platforms, our sourcing from common suppliers for the total global volume of a vehicle's components is dramatically increasing. This means that a smaller number of suppliers will receive a greater volume of the purchases made by Ford. This again results in stronger suppliers achieving (and Ford realizing) greater economies of scale, as their components are sourced across global platforms for the life of those platforms.