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 »
There are just not enough hours in the day anymore. Perhaps there never were, but it seems to have become worse since the high-tech meltdown and subsequent financial crisis, followed by fiscal cliffs and sequestration. Yes, I am older now, and that may account for some of it, but I also believe that everyone is
Purchasing Best-Practices for Tough Times 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 »
I find one reality TV show interesting because it actually represents reality. …At least, it’s the reality that I see through the supply chain and procurement lens of Freebenchmarking.com and Component Cost Estimator as it mirrors typical purchasing negotiations. The show is Pawn Stars, about a family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas. In this show,
Pawn Stars: Lessons for the Supply Chain Read More »
I find myself confused between what I read in the press and my personal experience. One example is the exodus of manufacturing from China to North America. While this widely espoused turn of events may play well to nationalism and hope for local job creation, I don’t see it. My clients are being well served
China Isn’t Being Displaced Read More »
Maybe I’m fixated on cost and competitiveness, but over Christmas, two things happened that drove me to ponder these themes. The first is that I was given a Boxee Box as a gift; the second is a technology, entertainment, and design (TED) lecture that I heard via Boxee by an incredible 19-year-old woman named Eva
Why I Am Fixated on Cost & Competitiveness Read More »
There are times when I wonder why companies have purchasing departments. Wouldn’t it be a great cost reduction to get rid of the overhead for this group and just let designers pick suppliers and set component pricing? A demand planner could interface with contract manufacturers that would keep costs competitive and take care of all
Turning Ordinary to Great Read More »
I have just figured out what my company does! It may sound strange that a CEO of seven years has this epiphany, but it’s true. Lytica Inc. makes knowledge power tools for supply management. Freebenchmarking.comwas our first tool and Component Cost Estimator is our second. Oh, and by the way, this is what we do
Is Your Company Reinventing Itself? Read More »
Out of capacity, lead times at 44 weeks, and price increases: Sounds familiar? Since my blog on volume vs. price last month, there’s been a continuing discussion of what sets the pricing of electronic components, starting with the question: “If not volume, then what?” I will share here some thoughts on component pricing, starting with
Putting the Volume-Price Myth to Rest Read More »
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