IW Best Plants Profile - 1996

As Halliburton has honed its supplier ranks, it has found additional voices for product and process improvements. "That wouldn't have happened in the past," says Tim Hunter, business-unit manager. "A lot of times we had engineered specific items, and procurement went out looking for that very item, no exceptions. . . . It got people wondering and questioning, 'Do we really need that?', and suppliers coming back to us offering more standard-type materials, shorter leadtimes, and [lower prices]. In some cases [they were] offering services that we didn't know they had, like semifinished parts. Where we've grown those relationships is where we are gaining benefits in a big way from our suppliers."