Powered by Honda

by Dave Nelson

Honda of America's competitive advantage is powered by a potent mix of creative forward thinking and seamless follow-through. The key to the carmaker's remarkable performance - exemplified by the radical product development that went into the 1998 Accord - is a unique program for supply-based excellence dubbed BP. Combining classic quality analysis and problem-solving techniques, BP targets five strategic improvement areas: Best Position, Best Productivity, Best Product, Best Price, and Best Partners. It boils down to a philosophy-driven initiative grounded in developing, rather than leveraging, excellent suppliers, and it is a tenet that has enabled the automobile manufacturer to build a strong supply base whose partners consistently deliver zero ppm defects, with to-the-minute on-time deliveries, at very competitive costs. BP has revolutionized the way Honda and other companies increase market share and raise performance levels, and it can be applied to virtually any type of organiza