Building Strong Supplier Relationships

Building strong relationships with suppliers is central to our ability to create a sustainable supply chain. Without strong relationships, we lessen our ability to influence the sustainability goals and management processes of our suppliers. We base our relationships with suppliers on open communication, clear expectations and consistent requirements and processes. And we work to maintain these relationships by:

  • Deploying a single, global product-creation process that combines aggressive execution of product plans with minimal variances
  • Enhancing process and part stability, commonality and reusability
  • Providing real-time performance data to our supply base
  • Providing suppliers with greater access to senior Ford managers in small-group settings
  • Improving order fulfillment
  • Engaging suppliers in discussions about process stability, incoming quality and corporate responsibility

Engaging Strategic Suppliers through Our Aligned Business Framework

In addition to the efforts we make to build relationships with all of our suppliers, we engage even more robustly with our most strategic suppliers, through our Aligned Business Framework (ABF). We introduced the ABF for our most strategic suppliers in 2005 to increase mutual profitability, improve quality, drive innovation and help us encourage shared commitment to sustainability goals. Through our ABF program, we help our Tier 1 suppliers develop the capability to manage their own supply chain sustainability issues.

We sign bilateral agreements with our ABF suppliers that comprehensively and formally spell out business commitments. For example, ABF suppliers must commit to manage and assure proper working conditions and responsible environmental management in their facilities and their supply chains. ABF suppliers must also adhere to our Global Terms and Conditions. Beyond the fact that it is the right thing to do, requiring suppliers to commit to these terms also reduces the risk of operational or reputational issues that could affect production and provides the basis for Ford to work with suppliers to ensure responsible behavior throughout the automotive supply chain. See the Building Shared Commitment and Capability throughout Our Supply Chain section for more on how we engage ABF suppliers on sustainability issues.

Ford’s ABF Suppliers

As of June 2012, the ABF network included 103 companies, including 78 production and 25 nonproduction suppliers from around the world. Minority- and women-owned suppliers make up more than 10 percent of the total.

ABF Production Suppliers

  • Akebono
  • Asahi Glass Co Ltd.
  • Autoliv
  • Automotive Lighting
  • Autoneum
  • BASF
  • Benetler Automobiltechnik GmbH
  • BorgWarner
  • Bosch
  • Brembo
  • Brose
  • Central Glass of America
  • Continental
  • Cooper Standard
  • Dakkota*
  • Dana
  • Delphi
  • Denso
  • Detroit Manufacturing Systems*
  • Diamond Electric
  • Dicastal Wheel
  • Diversified Machine
  • Dupont
  • Eisenwerk Bruel GmbH
  • Faurecia
  • FCC Adams LLC
  • Federal Mogul
  • Flex-N-Gate*
  • Foster
  • GFT (Getrag/Ford JV)
  • GKN
  • Grupo Antolin*
  • Hankook
  • Hella
  • Hitachi-Clarion
  • HUSCO Automotive
  • IAC
  • Inalfa
  • Inergy
  • JCI
  • Johnson Matthey
  • Kautex Textron GmbH & Co.KG
  • Key Safety Systems
  • Kiekert
  • KSPG Group
  • Lear
  • Linamar
  • Magna
  • MANN & HUMMEL
  • Martinrea
  • Maxion Wheels
  • Michelin
  • Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
  • Muhr und Bender KG
  • Neapco
  • Nemak
  • PPG
  • Panasonic (Sanyo)
  • Piston Automotive*
  • Pirelli
  • Prime Wheel*
  • Ronal
  • Samvardhana Motherson
  • Sonavox
  • Superior
  • Takata Holdings
  • Tenneco
  • Thai Summit
  • Thyssen Krupp
  • Toyoda Gosei
  • Trelleborg
  • TRW
  • Umicore
  • Valeo
  • Visteon
  • Webasto
  • Yazaki
  • ZF

ABF Non-Production Suppliers

  • Active Aero
  • Aristeo
  • Blue Hive
  • Cisco
  • Cross Country Automotive Services
  • Devon Industrial Group*
  • Durr
  • EWI Worldwide
  • Ewie*
  • Federal Express
  • Global Parts & Maintenance
  • Gonzalez Production Systems*
  • Imagination
  • Kajima Overseas Asia
  • Kuka
  • MAG Automation
  • Microsoft
  • MSX International
  • Penske
  • Percepta
  • Roush
  • Team Detroit
  • Uniworld Group*
  • Waldbridge
  • Zubi Advertising*

* indicates minority- or women-owned business enterprise supplier

Downloads

Download Summary Report

Ford’s 2012/13 Sustainability Report is summarized in this 8-page downloadable document.

Visit our Downloads page for this report in full or as separate sections along with supplementary publications.