text: Our Alliance with Renault has also provided substantial 
  
  purchasing benefits and opportunities. Formed in 2001, the 
  
  Renault Nissan Purchasing Organization, or RNPO, now 
  
  accounts for over 70 percent of all purchasing for Nissan 
  
  and Renault. Nissan will further benefit from RNPO through 
  
  the utilization of Renault supply bases in certain LCCs. 
  
  Although the turnaround in the Nissan business has 
  
  been profound, we also recognize that our supplier partners 
  
  have played a significant role. Going forward, we intend to 
  
  reinforce those relationships, building value on both sides. 
  
  For example, we are reinvigorating our innovative 3-3-3 
  
  engineering program. 
  
  We are also deploying a purchasing process that gets 
  
  suppliers involved earlier and further upstream in the 
  
  product development process, the concept of ‘project 
  
  partners’. This is a program that identifies key technologies 
  
  and innovations that require substantial investments from 
  
  both sides. Suppliers will be selected as project partners for 
  
  a specific area and will work closer with us to develop 
  
  lower cost and higher quality solutions. This win-win 
  
  approach has already started with interior systems and 
  
  chassis development projects. 
  
  Last year, we faced several challenges with raw 
  
  materials. Those risks—both price and supply related—are 