Goodyear is the leading tire manufacturer in the U.S. With a number of
             different brands, Goodyear has a tire for almost all types of cars, trucks,
             agricultural vehicles and off-road vehicles. This paper evaluates the need
             for quality improvement in the raw-material supplier, distribution and
             marketing of the tires in the U.S. Production and manufacturing are
             important areas where traditionally quality management has been emphasized
             and stressed. In recent times however there is an increasing trends by
             organizations to also improve the quality of their supply and distribution
             channels with the aim of improving customer satisfaction. In the
             organizational setting, quality is often defined based on the need of the
             customer and how an organization meets this need. Product performance and
             perception play an important role in identifying the perception of quality
             that a customer might have. Satisfying customer needs has created a new
             need for managing customer relationship and providing the desired service.
             The customers for Goodyear Tire Company are identified as follows:
            
• The Original Equipment Tire Customers (OEM): This includes the car
             manufacturers who constitute approximately 25-30% of the total tire
             consumption. (Kerin and Peterson, 2004) The tires manufactured by the
             company are used on a variety of cars manufactured by GM, Ford, Chrysler,
             Mazda and Toyota to name a few. The demand for tires from this type of
             customer depends on the automobile industry, which in turn depends on the
             volume of cars sold. Goodyear considers the OEM customer very important,
             as, if customers were satisfied with the quality and the performance of
             tires on their vehicles they were more likely to replace their tires with
             replacements from the same company. Auto manufacturers also prefer to
             procure contract...