Placido Engine Company Case 1. Although there are several problems occurring within Placido Engine; first and foremost, Placido’s customers are upset. Placido began receiving complaints concerning corroded gearboxes on engines. After further research on the corroded parts, it was determined that the corrosion problem was centered in the Turbo 110 engine and the magnesium castings. In fact, a tremendous amount of these parts were already corroded upon arrival from Placido’s suppliers. This problem became so significant that Placido decided to create an Executive Corrosion Task Force to suggest a new solution to the problem.
This brings us to Placido Engine’s next major problem. Despite the fact that Placido created a task force, they have been working to solve this problem for three years. With this sizeable amount of time, the corrosion should no longer be an issue to the company. It should have at least minimized the issue. Instead, the problem has continued to increase to the point that Placido Engine was forced to give their suppliers an ultimatum.
Lastly, the abrupt email generated by the company constructed another major problem. The suppliers were immediately disgruntled by the sudden email, and they began to submit complaints as well. Now, Placido is receiving complaints from both their customers and suppliers. With all three of these major problems, Placido Engine is not in a very appealing place.

2. In order to solve Placido’s major issues, they should begin with the angry customers. Without loyal customers, Placido Engine would become irrelevant. A solution to this problem may consist of recalling the corroded parts, and send out letters, and emails, personally apologizing for the inconvenience. They should also state that they are quickly working to fix the corrosion problem, and will replace their products as soon as they can. It may also behoove Placido to offer a slight discount on their next purchase to keep the customers they have.
Not only should Placido apologize to their customers, but they should also formally apologize for the abrupt change in their requirements. However, Placido should request to negotiate with the suppliers in order to fix the corrosion problem. Rather than just sending them abrupt orders out of the blue, they need to create a more efficient communication channel. If the suppliers still refuse to conform to the changes after explaining the frustrations faced by the customers, Placido should consider finding some new suppliers. A win-win negotiation would be preferred.
After dealing with the customers and the suppliers, it would be beneficial to work on opening up the communication barriers between supply managers, the task force, the suppliers, and quality assurance. This whole situation could have been avoided if everyone involved was communicating properly. It could also be reasonable to create a new task force. Three years is more than enough time to uncover a solution. Revamping the task force would bring new ideas and innovations that Placido Engine clearly needs.