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Season 6 opens with a deep dive into the 2025 Working Relations Index (WRI)—and the numbers are telling. Toyota, Honda, and GM continue to rise, while Ford and Stellantis slide further down. The gap between the top and bottom OEMs? The largest since 2008.
Jan brings together Dave Andrea and Dr. Angela Johnson from Plante Moran, along with returning guest Sig Huber, to explain what’s behind the scores and what they mean for supplier relationships in today’s automotive world.
Toyota didn’t just maintain its lead; it widened it. The difference? Consistency, buyer accessibility, and a move to streamline supplier systems into a single platform. Suppliers asked for more visibility, and Toyota delivered.
GM, after several senior leadership changes, continues to show steady progress. A renewed focus on transparency, buyer empowerment, and cross-functional alignment is changing how suppliers experience the company. And it’s working.
On the other hand, Ford’s story is death by a thousand cuts. There was no single failure—just a build-up of delays, unclear communications, and internal silos that made it hard for suppliers to get what they needed.
Stellantis, still at the bottom, might be in the early stages of a turnaround. Leaders like Marlo Vitous and Antonio Filosa are more visible, engaged, and pushing for change, and suppliers are noticing.
One of the biggest takeaways? Empowerment at the buyer level. Toyota’s edge comes from enabling people on the ground to make decisions. GM is starting to adopt that mindset. Ford and Stellantis are still catching up. Suppliers want faster answers, stronger advocacy, and relationships built on trust—not red tape.
And yes—getting buyers back in the office made a difference, too. Suppliers responded positively to buyers being on-site and re-engaging face-to-face. One team even linked their score improvement directly to getting buyers back in three days a week.
They end the episode with a reminder of why the WRI matters. Good supplier relationships lead to better outcomes. In the top 3 OEMs, there’s a same-year correlation between WRI scores and financial results. The message to OEMs is that relationships drive performance, and the numbers prove it.
Themes discussed in this episode:
- Understanding the significance of the Automotive OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index (WRI) Study as a tool for assessing industry performance and supplier relations
- The growing gap between top and bottom OEMs in supplier trust, with the widest WRI spread since 2008
- The influence of leadership changes, such as Vice Presidents of Purchasing, on supplier relations and organizational performance
- How unpredictability and organizational complexity continue to hurt Stellantis' supplier relations
- How Toyota’s long-term mindset and consistent buyer behavior keep it on top of supplier rankings
- The importance of trust and collaboration between OEMs and suppliers in navigating future challenges
- The direct impact of empowered buyers on supplier trust and decision-making speed
- The proven connection between high WRI scores and same-year OEM financial performance
Featured guest: Dave Andrea
What he does: Dave Andrea is a principal at Plante Moran and leads the firm’s Working Relations Index® (WRI) practice, helping OEMs and suppliers improve their relationships and performance. With over 30 years in the automotive industry, he supports clients with strategic insights into supply base management, mobility trends, and global trade planning. Known for his ability to connect the dots between public policy and business strategy, Dave provides research-backed guidance that empowers clients to navigate change and make informed decisions.
Featured guest: Dr. Angela Johnson
What she does: Dr. Angela Johnson leads supplier relations analytics at Plante Moran, where she manages the Working Relations Index® survey and helps OEMs and suppliers build stronger, more collaborative partnerships. With a Ph.D. focused on OEM-supplier dynamics and over 30 years of experience in engineering, purchasing, and data strategy, Angela bridges corporate practice with academic insight to deliver fresh, actionable solutions across the automotive supply chain.
Featured guests: Sig Huber
What he does: Sig Huber is the Chief Commercial Officer at Elm Analytics, where he leverages over 25 years of experience in supplier risk management to support the automotive industry. He previously led global supplier risk efforts at both Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) and Toyota, guiding teams across North America, China, Italy, and Brazil. Sig played a key role during Chrysler’s bankruptcy, working closely with the Obama Automotive Task Force and the US Treasury to stabilize the supply base. He also served as a turnaround and strategy advisor at Riveron and currently sits on the board of a major Tier 1 supplier. A licensed attorney, Sig brings legal and operational insight to his work and is a recognized voice in the media on supply chain disruptions.
Episode Highlights:
[02:46] The Gap No One Can Ignore: The 2025 WRI reveals the biggest trust divide since 2008—Toyota, Honda, and GM pull ahead while the rest fall behind.
[05:20] Toyota’s Trust Formula: A jump in buyer behaviors, cultural consistency, and long-term thinking puts Toyota firmly back on top in the 2025 WRI.
[08:18] Predictability Cuts Both Ways: Suppliers trust Toyota’s consistency, but even the slightest slip now stands out, proving that strength can quickly become pressure.
[11:21] Toyota Raises the Bar: A 52-week calendar, streamlined systems, and better visibility prove Toyota’s listening, and suppliers are taking note.
[13:52] Power in the Buyer: Trust, speed, and supplier confidence all come down to one thing—empowered buyers who can actually make decisions.
[16:32] Where It Breaks Down: Empowered buyers and aligned goals separate top OEMs from the rest, especially when crisis hits and collaboration is put to the test.
[19:13] GM’s Culture Shift: With stronger communication, transparency, and leadership alignment, GM moved out of the bottom tier, and suppliers are starting to talk about them like Toyota.
[23:11] Visibility at the Top: When VPs show up, build trust, and stay accessible, it creates alignment across the organization—and Stellantis’ score jump proves it.
[28:10] Stellantis and the Swing: Despite stronger engagement, unpredictable costs and shaky program execution still weigh heavily on Stellantis’ supplier relationships.
[31:34] Death by a Thousand Cuts: Ford’s decline wasn’t driven by one big failure—just a steady pile-up of small frustrations that suppliers couldn’t ignore.
[35:13] Back to the Floor: Getting buyers back to the office and into supplier sites helped top OEMs rebuild trust the old-fashioned way—face to face.
[37:31] Trust Pays Off: OEMs with strong supplier relationships don’t just get better treatment—they get better performance, better teams, and better financial results.
[40:52] Scores Reflect Reality: Dr. Angela Johnson says it plainly—strong WRI scores drive strong financial results, and Toyota proves it.
Top Quotes:
[02:53] Dave: “We saw actually the widest gap between the highest rated vehicle manufacturer and the lowest vehicle manufacturer. So, there was a gap of 245 points. That was the largest gap since 2008. It really shows the disparity of the capabilities and the capacities of these vehicle manufacturers to deal with all of the issues that the industry is throwing at it. And also, the magnitude of these issues. So, the ranking remained the same: Toyota, Honda, General Motors, followed by Nissan, Ford, and then Stellantis. But the gap—the three really broke apart from the bottom three.”
[05:38] Dr. Angela: “They’re really doing the things that they do well—even better. That's making the difference in setting them apart. They increased all around. They particularly increased in their buyer characteristics—that’s those enabling behaviors. Things like accessibility, responsiveness, buyer knowledge, and helping the supplier resolve issues. That took a steep jump up for Toyota this year. Last year, they were behind Honda and GM, and this year they're back on top. And I believe those behaviors helped propel them to the top of the overall board. They were able to lean into the relationship they've established and better create win-win outcomes for their suppliers.”
[07:27] Sig: “Toyota is aligned with the Toyota Way and working in their day-to-day jobs with respect to consistency with the principles of the Toyota Way. And I think that is really an advantage when it comes to supplier relations, because it fosters the types of things that are measured in the survey. The other thing about Toyota is they have a very long-term perspective on things, and when it comes to their relationships, they're not always looking for a short-term solution. They're looking for what's best in the long term and what's best to continue to improve the organization as an extended enterprise, not just thinking of themselves as a company, and the suppliers are separate. They really view the supply base as an extension of their enterprise and act accordingly.”
[38:14] Sig: “When you have good relationships, you in fact are treated better, which makes the relationship easier to manage. And as a result of that, it's been discussed many, many times in the supplier relations surveys that when a company has good supplier relationships, they get the A teams from the suppliers, and they get better supplier performance. From my experience, what I've just seen is that over the past couple of years, those OEMs that are in the top tier for supplier relations have also been improving in their financial results. And those that are in the bottom tier have actually been on a downward trend.”
[40:28] Dave: “ If they have their act together in terms of how do they work with their suppliers, it's basically the same principles in terms of how do they work with their labor force, how do they work with their government relations people, how do they work with their dealers. It gets that kind of predictability and consistency that we've been talking about across all of those functions.”
[40:57] Dr. Angela: “Care because of the gap. Three went up, three went down. Those with better relationships get better results. Period. When we tested WRI scores against financial performance for the OEM, Toyota had a same-year correlation. By that, I mean this: scores come out in May 2025. If the trend continues, I would expect then for 2025, Toyota to post strong financial performance. When their scores are strong, their financial results are strong for that same year. To me, that says they're able to leverage the relationships to get the financial results.”
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This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more
