7. Supplier Relation E.Balasubramanian , head of sourcing for the project, was not a popular man with vendors and there were problem in order to get vendors to pare marging and persuade them to produce components at lower cost .
8. The vendors had to invest in new processes and methods to reengineer their products to specifications that were rigidly guided by cost , performance and regulatory compliances.
9. For example , P.K.Kataky , director of battery maker exide , was reported as saying that the company’s margin would be thin and it would start making money only after two or three years.
10. Getting suppliers ,who were mostly clustered in auto centres such as pune, chennai and delhi , to invest in singur , west bengal , which Tata motors had chosen for its small car plant , was difficult . “But now about 15-20 vendors would finish their plants along with Tata Motors”.
11. However A three-shift operation and consolidated purchasing with suppliers provided them with lots of relief.