How does Honda select new suppliers?

A guiding principle at Honda is that the carmaker is nothing more than an intermediary between the supplier and the customer.

“Honda will buy from the most competitive suppliers in order to fulfil customer satisfaction.” Taken directly from the Honda Supply Team website, this umbrella statement highlights what Honda considers to be the most important elements of any given tier relationship, but this needs to be broken down further to better understand what elements come together to make a competitive supplier.