Thomas T. Stallkamp

The basic business model is broken.

During the first three years of the twenty-first century the public has witnessed have been accounting scandals, management malfeasance and acts of simple greed committed by business leaders.

Legislation and regulation has been enacted to restore public and investor confidence. In his book Score: A Better Way to Do Busine$$, Thomas T. Stallkamp calls these “Band-Aids.” There are deeper issues, he says. Today’s adversarial organization model renders collaboration or alliances harder to implement.

Stallkamp, the former Vice Chair of DaimlerChrysler and an Industrial Partner at Ripplewood Holdings, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, argues collaboration and partnerships with related firms hold the key for the economy’s future growth.

During his 20 years at DaimlerChrysler, the author participated in a unique approach to dealing with external suppliers and employees. SCORE is an acronym which refers to a proprietary goal and measurement system: Supplier Cost Reduction Effort. Using its principles, America’s third largest auto maker raised the level of its corporate performance and financial results.

Stallkamp admits it took time to implement SCORE, but was worth the effort. Joined together in virtual teams, suppliers and the company jointly reduced the cost of developing and producing vehicles. The result: lower supplier costs and lower costs for Chrysler.

The fact Chrysler became the author supplier’s preferred customer speaks volumes. Customers and shareholders were not forgotten in the process. The company reaped the best ideas for its customers while it transformed itself into a profitable cash register for its shareholders.… (meer)