Buy Parts? Or Build Parts With Your Supplier?

Toyota doesn’t “buy” parts. Toyota builds parts - with suppliers.

Most OEM follow a simple old way rule:
- Send drawing
- Get quotation
- Negotiate hard
- Blame supplier if something fails

Toyota plays a completely different game. When Toyota develops a part, the supplier is invited before the drawing is frozen. Engineers sit together. Problems are discussed openly. Costs are broken down line by line. Not to squeeze margins - but to remove waste.

If a part is expensive, Toyota doesn’t ask:  “Why is your price so high?”  Toyota asks:  “Where is the muda in the process?”

If a defect appears, Toyota doesn’t issue emails. They go to the shop floor. They do genchi genbutsu - go and see. 

And here’s the biggest difference:
- Toyota improves the supplier capability, not just the part
- Knowledge flows both ways, not one-directional
- Long-term trust matters more than short-term savings

That’s why many Toyota suppliers: 
- Stay for decades
- Invest confidently
- Share innovations early

The result?
- Lower lifecycle cost
- Higher quality consistency
- Stronger supply chains — even during crises

Lesson beyond automobiles:
If you treat suppliers like vendors, you get transactions.
If you treat suppliers like partners, you build ecosystems. 

Toyota understood this long before “collaboration” became a buzzword.