mzuch,
Third party consolidation and purchasing is a standard practice in large corporations. Among other things, it allows for the corporation to reduce the size of its purchasing department as well as purchasing agents don't need to know much about what they are buying. They're just told to bring in so much of item A and the expectation is that the vendor will provide them with the material to Gibson's specs. Also, the vendors are delivering products "Just in Time", so that the manufacturer isn't carrying the inventory and liability on their books. They will often stage it in the manufacturers location with employees who will stock carts to feed a line per shift. This is a result of manufacturing going to an assembly process versus a true "cradle to the grave" manufacturing process. In my day job, I deal with these types of businesses on a regular basis. It doesn't make much sense from an outsiders view but it can benefit the corporation in a number of ways, but it can be a detriment too. There are some politicized issues that go along with that purchasing process but that's another topic. It wouldn't surprise me if Gibson has an employee hand selecting their timber and then have LMI import it and handle getting it to the shop floor.
