DETROIT – John Henke's influential benchmark report on automaker-supplier relations has been acquired by Plante Moran, a Detroit-area consulting firm.
The deal to acquire Henke's firm, Planning Perspectives Inc., closed Dec. 17. Financial terms were not disclosed by either party.
Accounting and consulting firm Plante Moran has taken on all of Planning Perspectives' intellectual property, including the yearly survey on which Plante Moran aims to build and expand.
Henke's report has been followed for many years by automakers and suppliers because it quantifies exactly how well individual manufacturers are viewed by their suppliers. The survey shows how the supply chain responds to decisions made by automakers' purchasing departments.
For coverage of the 2018 report, click here.
"There's nothing like that out there," Plante Moran automotive and mobility consulting practice leader Daron Gifford said of the annual North American Automotive OEM – Tier 1 Supplier Working Relations Index. "What we'd like to do is take that and grow it, as well. Other industries. Aerospace, medical device ... I think it's got a lot of potential to do that."
Gifford emphasized the expertise and reputation of Henke, 78, whose company launched its auto industry research practice more than 25 years ago.
"At Plante Moran, we don't do many acquisitions, so we're really excited about the opportunity to bring PPI into the fold and really develop our automotive depth," Gifford said.
Henke, meanwhile, is looking to get out of the supplier survey business. He also recently retired from two teaching positions at Rutgers University and Oakland University. He'll stay on with Planning Perspectives Inc. for about a year as a consultant through the transition, he said.
PPI's three full-time employees are expected to move from their office in the Detroit suburbs to Plante Moran's nearby Southfield, Mich., headquarters by the end of the week, Gifford said. Another three or four contracted employees are expected to remain on, as well.
Plante Moran employs about 1,100 in metro Detroit and around 3,100 total worldwide. It has U.S. locations in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio and international offices in Shanghai, Mumbai, Tokyo and Monterrey, Mexico.
