Case Jose Ignacio Lopez de ArriortuaGeneral Motors has been one of the most dominant automakers in the world since 1931. After the economic recession of the 1980s the main focus of the automakers was the cost reduction. Customers have become more price sensitive. Japanese competitors also entered the market with the new effective production system. So the market was highly competitive and oriented towards reducing prices. The case states that in 1991 GM suffered losses of $4.5 billion and most of the production costs were due to the purchase of components. GM NA hired Lopez to find a way out of an "extraordinary" situation and reduce costs. Answers to the relevant questions:1. Andrew Cox states in his article that the ideal situation for buyers is logically to force all their suppliers into the buyer dominance box (of his "Power Matrix" - page 13 of the article). Should a buyer ultimately strive to maintain a dominant leverage position over its supply base, as Cox suggests? Is it possible to maintain a dominant position of power over the buyer and simultaneously build a collaborative alliance with a supplier? Dominant power is very attractive to the buyer as it provides a kind of quality control and specifically lowers prices. But, from my point of view, supply chain management is mainly about cooperation in order to achieve success in every part of the channel and in this way achieve quality improvement and reduce costs throughout the supply chain so that everyone is satisfied. The key here is definitely to establish long-term trusting and supportive relationships where all members cooperate rather than dominate. To me it seems like the interdependence box is better for these types of relationships, where the buyer and supplier are... middle of the paper... I'm guessing you're Jose Lopez's successor at GM. What problems should you deal with? What actions would you take in your new position and why? If I were Jose Lopez's successor at GM, I would address the inefficiency of internal suppliers and gradually review contracts with external suppliers in order to establish long-term valuable relationships for both parties. I would try to move the company as a buyer into a dominance box from the Power Matrix closer to interdependence. Since Lopez has already gained some power by adopting this new policy, I would try to mitigate it, so that suppliers can feel relieved and be more satisfied. Definitely what I would start to do is develop a strategy for long-term cooperation and continue to employ keiretsu practices but introduce them in a better way by stating with the firm how my suppliers work and how we can gain mutual benefit.