The New Era of Supplier Partnerships: Transparency, Data Integration & Quality Collaboration Across Tiers 1–3

As manufacturing ecosystems become increasingly complex and globally distributed, traditional, transactional supplier relationships are no longer sufficient to meet rising demands for quality, reliability, speed, and resilience. This session explores how OEMs and suppliers across tiers 1–3 are redefining partnerships—shifting from reactive issue management toward proactive, performance‑driven collaboration. Attendees will examine how shared accountability, clear expectations, and trust‑based relationships are becoming essential to managing risk and ensuring consistent outcomes across multi‑tier supply networks.

Moderated by Peter Zimm, Principal at Charles Edwards Management Consulting, who brings deep experience advising aerospace and industrial organizations on supplier ecosystems and market strategy, this panel features Jeff Hicks, Senior Vice President of Solutions at Fastenal with extensive experience driving global sourcing, customer alignment, and operational performance, and Dee Ward, Senior Vice President at Würth Group, representing a global supplier perspective across fastening and assembly solutions. Together, they bring a powerful combination of OEM, supplier, and advisory expertise, enabling a true cross‑industry dialogue. This discussion will focus on how organizations are improving transparency, integrating data across fragmented systems, and aligning quality expectations across tiers to enable predictable performance. Panelists will share practical approaches to strengthening supplier relationships, driving accountability, and building resilient, high‑performing production ecosystems through better coordination of people, processes, and data across the value chain.