José Ignacio López de Arriortúa

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José Ignacio López de Arriortúa
José Ignacio López de Arriortúa 2018 (cropped).jpg
Born (1941-01-18) 18 January 1941 (age 81)
Amorebieta, Spain
NationalitySpanish
OccupationFormer Head of Process Optimization and Procurement at Volkswagen
Known forLopez Effect

José Ignacio López de Arriortúa (born 18 January 1941) is a Spanish automotive manager who held senior positions at Opel, General Motors and Volkswagen. He was known for his assertive style dealing with suppliers, managing lean production and driving down cost.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life and education[]

Lopez was born in Amorebieta, Basque Country, Spain, where his father ran a car repair workshop. He studied manufacturing engineering and operations control in Bilbao. He was awarded a Doctor of Engineering in 1966.[6]

Career[]

Lopez started his career at Westinghouse and Firestone in Spain before joining GM in 1980. Initially working at the Zaragoza plant, he became Head of Purchasing for GM's subsidiary Opel in Rüsselsheim in 1987. There he established consumer price driven production methods, which reversed commonly held practice to this date. He dubbed this "Purchased Input Concept Optimisation with Suppliers", or PICOS. He moved on to apply those processes at GM's US operations as global Vice President of Procurement, resulting in reported savings of US$1bn.[1]

In 1993, Volkswagen poached Lopez to join the German car maker in Wolfsburg. He was appointed Head of Process Optimization and Procurement.[5] In 1996 he stepped down from this position amidst controversy of corporate espionage when he left GM.

In 2011, Lopez was indicted by German prosecutors on suspicion of taking trade secrets from GM to Volkswagen in 1993,[7] while US authorities unsuccessful requested his extradition from Spain on similar charges.[5][4]

After leaving VW in 1996, Lopez established a consulting practice in Spain[8] and later on unsuccessfully attempted to establish a Spanish car company.

Lopez Effect[]

Lopez introduced a number of changes to the supply chains and production methods at Volkswagen and GM. The particular focus was on reduction of supplier prices so that a target end price of cars could be achieved. While he was at Opel, the manufacturer's input prices continuously fell, while prices in the overall market increased. The reduction in supplier prices was achieved by systematic price negotiations in a competitive market where a larger number of suppliers faced increasingly integrated car companies. Lopez' success in those price negotiations that resulted in a positive impact on overall cost basis had been dubbed "Lopez Effect". However, as suppliers increasingly struggled to deliver at cost, input part quality started to deteriorate which in turn had a negative effect car build quality. The "Lopez Effect" is therefore used for both those effects.[9][10][11][12][13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Crusader at the wheel: Ignacio Lopez sees himself as a saviour of the". The Independent. 2011-10-23. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  2. ^ Cohen, Roger (1992-06-09). "G.M. Cost Cutter Sharpens His Ax". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  3. ^ "Executive's Fall as Dramatic as His Rise". Los Angeles Times. 30 Nov 1996. Retrieved 9 Jul 2021.
  4. ^ a b Daly, Emma (2001-06-20). "Spain Court Refuses to Extradite Man G.M. Says Took Its Secrets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  5. ^ a b c "Der Fall López: Der einst berühmteste Manager der Autoindustrie ist am Ende - Auslieferung in die USA unwahrscheinlich". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). 12 July 2000. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  6. ^ "López de Arriortúa, José Ignacio; spanischer Industriemanager und Unternehmensberater; Dr.-Ing. - Munzinger Online". munzinger.stabi-hb.de. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  7. ^ "Lopez indicted over taking secrets to VW". The Independent. 2011-10-22. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  8. ^ SPIEGEL, Erich Wiedemann, DER (3 August 1997). ""Für dich, Herr Arbeiter"". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  9. ^ Knolmayer, Gerhard F.; Mertens, Peter; Zeier, Alexander (2012-11-02). Supply Chain Management Based on SAP Systems: Order Management in Manufacturing Companies. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-540-24816-3.
  10. ^ Bleischwitz, Raimund; Welfens, Paul; Zhang, ZhongXiang (2017-09-29). Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity: Economic and Global Policy Issues. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-27919-2.
  11. ^ Keith, Bonnie; Vitasek, Kate; Manrodt, Karl; Kling, Jeanne (2015-11-09). Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-55220-4.
  12. ^ Journal, Brandon MitchenerStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (1997-03-14). "GM May Be Losing Edge In Competition in Europe". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  13. ^ Arnold, Heinrich M. (2012-12-06). Technology Shocks: Origins, Managerial Responses, and Firm Performance. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-642-57403-0.
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