My brother sent an article from IW (Industry Week??) Nov 6, 1995 ---
 
The High Price of Low Trust, a book review of the book
Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Properity by
Francis Fukuyama
 
A lot of good stuff in it, but the following reminded me of our
thread on SERVICE.
 
Quote on
 
The low-trust version is simply: 'All this great networking technology
is going to allow us to get the most efficient supplier, the best
product at the best price anywhere in the world, and we'll stay with that
so long as they offer the best price and service and then move on to
somebody else.'
 
But the other version is like the Japanese keiretsu system. Particularly
in the high-tech sector, you simply cannot go to for the best price;
you have to develop a long-term relationship between the manufacturer
and the subcontractor or supplier. You need a very intimate knowledge
of the product development and internal engineering, the cost structure,
and reliability of suppliers and their ability to innovate over a long
period of time. That's not something you can get without having
established a long-term relationship that's not going to be knocked
off by another supplier coming in and offering a 5% lower price. I think
it's the latter that's the more important version.
 
Quote off
 
Elbert Silbaugh