How to manage Quality and Suppliers in Mexico?

AMREP Mexico was one of the busiest places for our Mexican Suppliers Quality Management teams. We were operating with high efficiency and productivity in Tijuana, Nogales, Mexicali, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Reynosa or wherever there is a factory somewhere in Mexico.

 

Well, this was before the Great Financial Crash and the Great Mexican Drug Wars. The manufacturing pattern has changed drastically.  But work is still going on, and the quality problems remain the same, although at a different pace.  Some things change, some things do not!

 

Mexican Quality Management does not change.

 

I was at a meeting with Sam Quintana, at San Diego, Claremont, talking to the Director of Quality Engineering about getting the best out of Mexican suppliers.

 

The biggest problem with Mexican engineers and managers, the Director said, was their “Tomorrow” attitude on problems resolution. Americans have the “Today” attitude in problem resolutions.

 

So when too many “tomorrows” were repeated, the Director decided to place a customer quality representative inside the supplier factory to overcome the Mexican barrier and sit on the Mexican factory management.  He was unaware that Sam Quintana was our Mexican manager for AMREP Mexico.

 

I was embarrassed. Sam was not.

 

“The truth hurts”, Sam said. Therefore, the Director needs AMREP services to get over this “Tomorrow” attitude. Sam was American trained. He figured that all that was needed was a clever, smart talking Mexican to out smooth talk the factory Mexicans and move them towards problem resolutions. “You fixed quality problems, the Mexican Way and Style with the American Tools”.

 

Posted by

Isabel, AMREP Customer Service

San Diego