I find the EMS industry interesting; it is not so much about what they do, but their business model. While their function is interesting it pales in comparison to their low profit margin business model. They do so much for so little. Why is this? I have many of the largest (as well as small […]
Dissecting the EMS Business Model Read More »
Readers who have followed my writing in blogs and whitepapers may find this blog out of character. Its premise is that the value delivered by EMS companies (contract manufacturers) is higher than the amount they charge for services. While my message is pay for value, it often comes across as too many are paying too
The True Value of Contract Manufacturers Read More »
Analytics is an in-vogue topic of leading consulting companies today. Despite its trendy name and popularity it seems that, once again, operations personnel need to relearn an old lesson; companies and individuals who use data outperform those who don’t. In the supply chain, I am seeing a third wave of this realization emerge. The first
Analyze this: Analytics Drive Supply Chain Excellence Read More »
In my last blog, I discussed how due diligence can be improved. Today we’ll explain how to ensure a component will meet standards, perform as expected, and be in supply when you need it. These concerns stem from the second level of Lytica’s supply chain hierarchy of needs, which includes three elements: Certifications that the
Ensuring Components Meet Your Needs Read More »
Security of supply is one of the most critical priorities of any supply chain; cost and compliance are the other top ones. Given how critical security of supply is, I am often surprised by how inadequate many due diligence programs are at getting to the heart of risk or ensuring that adequate agility exists to
Supply Chain Security & Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Read More »
In his recent EBN Weekly Editor’s Blog, Brian Fuller posed the question, “Have we lost control?” which has me wondering if we ever had control. Clearly, everything seems to have shifted, but then again, change, not stability, is the norm. The West has only dominated the world in the last few hundred years, and America
We Need Performance, Not Speculation Read More »
It stands to reason that, within a set of components, some would have better and others worse than a sweet-spot price. “Sweet-spot” here means an appropriate, fair-market price level for the purchaser. If you normalized the sweet-spot prices so that different components could be compared, you would expect a distribution showing variance around that value.
Everyone Has Some Bad Electronic Component Pricing Read More »
In part 1, I talked about the influence design engineers can exert on procurement and the supply chain. This is often a negative influence that comes without proper education or information. What do I want top designers to know about supply chain design? Leverage Leverage is a critical factor in negotiations. Without it, you take
What Engineers Must Know About the Supply Chain, Part 2 Read More »
Accenture and others have reported that company stock prices can dropanywhere from 7.5 to 12 percent following severe supply chain disruptions. PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates this drop at 9 percent and says that, for two-thirds of those companies, stock performance will still lag competitors a year after the disruption. If this is the case, why do we
What Engineers Must Know About the Supply Chain, Part 1 Read More »
Most supply chain professionals would benefit from some training in accounting. I am surprised by the number of times I encounter people holding positions of responsibility who just don’t understand the numbers well enough. I must admit that accountants don’t make it particularly easy. Take cashflow calculations as an example. There are two ways of
Supply Chain Accounting 101 Read More »
