Autumn 2008. Lehman Brothers has gone bankrupt. 
Major US carmaker General Motors is teetering on collapse as well.

"Are we at risk, too?" 
"We should curtail our business with them right away."
DENSO delivered products to GM, and here as well, a variety of opinions gushed forth.

It is natural to want to collect debts from a company having financial difficulties, and settle accounts. 
One sales agent, however, said this:

It was a major decision. 
"DENSO does not run away." 
The account manager conveyed the group's stance to GM.

Other suppliers, frantic to collect debts, demanded shorter payment deadlines and pushed back delivery dates. 
We, however, continued to deal with GM.
Even while carefully hedging against risk, we honored existing agreements, and even entered into contracts that ordinarily we would be hesitant to sign.

Someone who slides up with a smile when business is thriving but lets go the moment it starts to falter – who would trust such as person? 
What DENSO wanted to protect was not profit, nor status, nor size.

It is precisely when a partner is in trouble that we should join arms and press ahead. 
In response to this attitude, DENSO's debt-collection rate reached 100%. 
Amid many occurrences of suppliers who had uncollected debts, we continued to step forward as partners providing mutual support until the advent of a reborn GM.

Then one day, reflecting on our selfless response, a project manager at GM said this to sales agent or ours:

"DENSO is the best supplier. 
We want to keep hard at it together with you on into the future."

Without a doubt, ties that transcend business came into being through this.