Carlos Mazzorin, Ford Motor Co's group vice president of purchasing, is leading the move to purchasing over the Internet. He talked to Automotive News Europe's David Sedgwick about his plans.
Is it realistic to say your purchasing operations will ever become paperless?
Yes. We will get there. We started the process eight months ago, and we are going to get better and better at it.
General Motors also wants to get all its suppliers online so it can announce production changes via the Internet.
We are doing the same thing. The big challenge is to get the total value chain connected - to get our Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers online.
Why does it take so long - up to four years - to implement the program?
You have to establish standards for tiers 2 and 3. You need to have your technology in place. You need the infrastructure for the business.
