If the wheel and tire assembly work group provides a low quality product (improperly mounted tires,

unbalanced wheel assemblies, or otherwise damaged wheel assemblies), what does that do to the
output of the wheel installation work group? What does it do the recreational vehicle
manufacturer's external customers (those who ultimately purchase the automobiles)?

Is the cost of doing business with the wheel and tire assembly work group higher (either in monetary
terms, or in terms of lower quality, and therefore, more rejected wheel assemblies) than the cost of
buying completed wheel assemblies from an external supplier?

Suppose the wheel and tire assembly work group provides wheel assemblies of low quality that do
not meet the needs and expectations of the wheel and tire installation work group. Will the wheel
and tire installation group be dissatisfied with the goods it is receiving? Will it be unable to use these
wheel and tire assemblies? Will the output of the wheel and tire installation work group suffer if it
receives low quality wheel assemblies?

The answer to each of the above questions is yes, and that has strong implications for the last
question. As is the case any time a customer is dissatisfied (in this case, the wheel and tire
installation group), the supplier is likely to lose business to a competitor. Although it may sound
incredible, many companies in the United States are outsourcing work previously done internally for
just that reason. They have discovered that external suppliers can often provide higher quality goods
and services than can be provided internally.

Selling Is Not Always Required

As the above example shows, a group serving the needs of its customers may not necessarily sell its
products. The customer can be an internal customer that does not engage in trade, but instead
simply receives the output of its suppliers (this occurs most often in relationships involving internal
suppliers and customers, as is the case in the example provided above).

The lack of selling as a sign of a customer/supplier

relationship is not confined solely to internal supplier/customer relationships, however. Consider the
goods and services provided by government agencies and social services. The services of local police
and fire departments are provided to customers (in this case, the inhabitants and visitors of the
areas served by the police and fire department). If poor service is provided (perhaps the agency
takes too long to respond to calls for assistance), the agency's customers will be every bit as
dissatisfied as a customer who bought a product or a service.

There are numerous other government agencies and social services that serve customers.
Govermnent bodies and social agencies recognize that their services must meet the needs and
expectations of their customers. Many police departments are now tracking their indices of
customer satisfaction, such as emergency call response times, crime statistics, and the time it takes
to solve crimes (and they are taking actions to improve these statistics). A few police departments
are even mailing cards to crime victims to advise them on the status of the investigation, who the
investigating officers are, and how they can be contacted for additional information. Some motor
vehicle registration services are now tracking the average amount of time drivers must stand in line
to register vehicles or wait for state-mandated inspection services (and they are taking actions to
reduce these delays). Some community health services query those to whom they provide services
(and they are moving to improve areas where their customers are not satisfied). Many schools are
now tracking average test scores of their students on standardized tests (and taking actions to
improve stude