Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has earned a prestigious Supplier Performance Management (SPM) Award from truck manufacturer PACCAR. Bendix is among the 39 recipients for 2017 which honored on Nov. 30 during a presentation in Denton, Texas.
“The relationship between PACCAR and Bendix goes back decades, and we’ve been proud to work together to deliver the highest levels of quality and service to fleets and owner-operators across North America,” said Berend Bracht, Bendix president and CEO. “This achievement is about more than meeting a benchmark: Striving to meet PACCAR’s highest expectations required in-depth, two-way communications at every step along the way. It’s a journey we couldn’t be more excited to continue.”
PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. Its SPM program evaluates a supplier’s performance in the areas of product development, operations support and business alignment with PACCAR objectives. Through the SPM program, suppliers and PACCAR cross-functional teams collaborate to identify performance enhancements and develop product innovations. PACCAR has recognized 89 suppliers since the launch of the SPM program in 2014.
Headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, Bendix manufactures active safety and braking solutions for commercial vehicles, and operates manufacturing facilities in Acuña, Mexico; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Huntington, Indiana; and North Aurora, Illinois.
In late 2016, Bendix set its sights on achieving PACCAR SPM recognition as part of the company’s ongoing drive for continuous improvement. Company leaders formed a team management system to reach the goal, and created smaller teams to focus on each of the PACCAR scoring metrics for award consideration. Through regular progress reports and review meetings both inside Bendix and with PACCAR, and action items implemented across all of Bendix’s North America locations, the team drove improvements in sales, quality, delivery, engineering, warranty reduction and Bendix’s overall strategic alignment with PACCAR.
“Attaining this PACCAR recognition is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our entire workforce,” said Carlos Hungria, chief operating officer at Bendix. “We gained immeasurable insight that will benefit our teams, improve our products and serve our customers and other industry partners in our collective pursuit of putting the safest trucks possible on the roads we all share.”
Earlier this year, PACCAR named Bendix to its list of premier suppliers that meet the OEM’s rigorous quality expectation of 10 PPM for parts and components. This distinction – awarded to the Bendix Huntington manufacturing campus – is maintained on a rolling 12-month performance basis. To be nominated for the quality certification, PACCAR-approved suppliers must meet a range of criteria – in areas including warranty, quality system certifications, on-time submission rates and more – in addition to sustaining a non-conforming parts rate below 10 PPM, or product defects expressed in Parts Per Million. In addition, honorees must pass PACCAR’s Supplier Readiness Review.
