How Lytica became a unique analytics company: Part 20
This blog’s title is an email quote from a customer trying the extreme shortages mitigation approaches outlined in my last blog. He was surprised by the number of alternatives we tabled for him.
This individual is one of the best supply chain professionals I know. He works for one of our clients in the Bay area and has worked for a number of industry leading telecom and computer companies. I can guarantee you that, based on his work ethic, experience and mindset, he has turned his supply base upside down trying to get parts, applying every technique normally available to purchasing professionals in doing so. I am delighted that Lytica’s methods found so many new supply opportunities for him to pursue and even more delighted in his surprise! Once again, another industry leader confirms Lytica’s approach.
I am delighted that Lytica’s methods found so many new supply opportunities for him to pursue and even more delighted in his surprise!
In last week’s blog I used the term extreme; this was not meant to scare people. It is not extreme in the sense that a customer would be at high risk or operating at the edge of a cliff. I wanted to highlight that our support service is extreme because it is an out of the box solution for most organizations and suppliers. In a day or so, we can accomplish what would take component engineers and buyers weeks or months to do manually – if at all.
The service described in my blog uses Lytica’s Freebenchmarking reference library and engine, along with a client’s shortage list (client part number, manufacturer part number and amount of shortage), to generate two files. The first file (File A) provides a list of alternatives derived from existing and alternative manufacturers and includes parametric and attribute data on the components. File A can be generated from just the shortage list. The second file (File B) uses the FBDC input file data to find more opportunities. It also provides the component attribute and parametric data but has a greater focus on your qualified manufacturers and other client specific preferences.
Lytica is able to provide these alternatives to your shortages because of the massive size and structure of our reference library which contains information on over 15,000 manufacturers. We also have imbedded the knowledge of CEs (Component Engineers) in our systems. Within our customer base, CEs are an ever-scarcer resource and more taxed than ever, especially in today’s short supply environment. The bottom line is that we can give you real options for components that will work in your application.
I have seen and experienced shortages in my career and have lived through the pain of it. Getting alternatives from sources like distribution gives you a limited set of options as they operate primarily from their line card. We don’t sell components and don’t have a line card, so we will give you the full range of component options from all known manufacturers.
We don’t sell components and don’t have a line card, so we will give you the full range of component options from all known manufacturers.
I’m not naive enough to believe that if you come up with an OFF AVL option – particularly if it involves a new supplier – that you won’t be challenged by groups on your team. Lytica’s sister company, Silecta, can offer qualification support which includes information on the manufacturers and on the component as used by others. We never release any information about our customers but are able to cull valuable recommendations from it; if a Fortune 500 company is using a manufacturer, maybe you should too!
Yes, my engine is revving a lot of RPMs so that we can help you get parts. This thing works and generates multiple options and, as they say, more is better. Don’t get caught on the sidelines while others enter the race!
Ken Bradley is the Chairman/CTO & founder of Lytica Inc., a provider of supply chain analytics tools and Silecta Inc., a SCM Operations consultancy.
