In an effort to recognize suppliers that are committed to exceeding expectations, Honda of America hosts the Annual Indirect Procurement Supplier Awards. This event ceremony shines a light on the important role of these strategic partners. This year, Pacific Rim Capital of Irvine, CA earned the Supplier of the Year honor.

Pacific Rim Capital (PRC) supports Honda’s daily operations with comprehensive powered industrial vehicle (PIV) fleet management. PIV, such as forklifts and material handlers, must be maintained just as we conduct regular maintenance on production equipment like presses and robots. With PIV, the equipment lifecycle is much shorter, and therefore, vehicles are often leased instead of purchased. Departments using these vehicles must periodically rotate the equipment with new units, ensure the maintenance and upkeep, as well as monitor the equipment’s hours to optimize usage.

Considering a single plant can have more than 100 vehicles in operation, managing the fleet can be quite a burden. From the start, Pacific Rim brought solutions to make the equipment acquisition, delivery and maintenance management more efficient for Honda departments.

One innovative idea led by the supplier was an online signature process to decrease the lease contract processing time. Departments were spending too much time chasing down approvers to sign the lease paperwork, causing tight equipment deliveries and unnecessary follow up. The online system streamlined the process while maintaining the necessary approvals to ensure equipment availability and timely delivery to the plants. In addition, Pacific Rim’s online asset management and report distribution tools have provided Honda with a way to access comprehensive lease information from beginning to end. This tool allows Honda to make informed decisions to extend the life and quality of our powered industrial vehicles, which in turn optimizes our operating costs.

“Although a new supplier to Honda’s manufacturing operations, Pacific Rim represented the best of the best this year,” according to Monica Oliverio, North American Indirect Procurement Department manager, who also said that the supplier outperformed all of the key business characteristics that encompass Quality, Cost, Delivery (QCD) and Safety and Service.

“It’s exciting to see a new business partner bring new tools and processes that can immediately help our associates save time and be more effective in their jobs,” she added. “It’s equally exciting that Pacific Rim Capital is a minority-owned company.”

After starting as an Information Technology lessor, Pacific Rim began to diversify their offerings into PIV equipment. Through its commitment to continuously develop and offer innovative solutions to their customers, Pacific Rim has grown to be a full-service company capable of effectively supporting large and complex operations.

“Transitioning to a new supplier can be challenging, but PRC made this transition as seamless as possible,” said Kyle Snyder, ELP power industrial vehicle lead. “As our production demands at ELP continue to grow, so does our equipment fleet. PRC’s commitment to quality service and attention to detail have helped to streamline our equipment ordering and lease tracking process.”

Diversifying its supply base is a key initiative for Honda that has led to the implementation of an annual supplier diversity event called Honda Partnership Network. Since 2015, Honda has increased diverse spend from $2.25 billion to over $3 billion dollars in 2017. These results are notable but Honda’s goals go beyond dollar figures. Building sustainable relationships with diverse suppliers will provide great benefits in the future.

“It is important that our supply chain be representative of our customers,” said Michael Bracey, team manager of North American Procurement Diversity. “Diverse companies provide innovative, cost effective business value for Honda and help us move forward. We do this because it makes sense and it is a part of our Honda DNA.”