Here's a quote that many of us can relate to: “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”

Over the past 18 months, individuals, families and businesses have faced more than their fair share of adversity, attributed mostly to the recession and its related hardships. More relevant for this blog has been the strain put on the supply chain and the buyer-supplier relationship. This couldn’t be more apparent than in the case of Chrysler according to a recent BusinessWeek story.

During the recession, demand was down significantly for vehicles, and thus, treating suppliers with courtesy (e.g. paying bills on time) wasn’t high on Chrysler’s priority list. Put simply, suppliers were limited in buyers they could sell to, and buyers—in this case, Chrysler—weren’t nice about it. The automaker itself was struggling with declining market share and a tarnished brand. Suppliers, of course, faced their own troubles with many...