DCA's Supply Chain Services
Aligning Design & Supply Chains
In a typical electronics product company, material purchases account for as much as 80% of total expenditures! Think of that for a moment. That is more than is spent on salaries, facilities, product development and marketing combined. In today’s highly competitive marketplace where razor-thin margins rule, proper management of the supply chain directly affects your bottom line profitability.
Design Chain Associates has more than a half century of supply chain management experience ranging from small start-up companies to tier one multinational corporations like Hewlett Packard. We have the knowledge, tools and proven track record to help you realize your design and supply chain’s full potential to deliver:
So how do we do this? Well, like the yellow brick road, it starts at the beginning:
Proper component and supplier selection is fundamental to a high quality supply chain. The choices made during the product concept and design phase will determine the robustness of the supply chain for the rest of the product lifecycle.
Supplier and part selection should take into account not only the product’s parametric and performance requirements, but also the needs of all downstream stakeholders. For example, emerging environmental regulations have imposed an entirely new set of restrictions on the usage of some materials as well as significant new data requirements. Have these new requirements been integrated into your selection processes?
Variable demand, product lifecycle uncertainty and outsourced and disaggregated supply chains all impose unique performance requirements on component and supplier selection decisions. In today’s outsourced world, seamless operation is largely an unachieved vision; however it starts with how well your supplier and technology preferences align with those of your manufacturing subcontractors and OEM/ODM partners.
How well your company manages this process and communicates and includes stakeholder requirements into the up-front decisions will have a significant downstream impact.
The proper number of suppliers can be as important as the selection process.
Let the DCA experts examine your supplier and part portfolios and New Part Introduction (NPI) processes to answer these questions. Our highly qualified team of component engineers and supply chain management professionals can audit your processes and provide meaningful feedback and suggestions. Short on resources? Not a problem. DCA can offer a menu of turnkey services tailored to your specific needs.
Qualification of the suppliers and components should be more than proving technical performance in your application.
Qualification should insure lifecycle performance – both for the component and technology, as well as the supplier’s ability to continue to deliver a consistent product. The geographically dispersed operations that dominate today’s environments add new complexity to the qualification process as performance must be uniform across the globe.
Areas not previously considered, like logistics, now become make-or-break issues as surprise demand from various geographical areas can strain a supplier that does not properly position material or have means to move material rapidly and efficiently across political boundaries and through various customs offices.
Your suppliers also have outsourced key operations and thereby greatly complicated their internal material flows. They may have several contracted foundries and assembly and test sources that add uncertainty to where your material is coming from and what your geographical and political risks are at any given point in time.
How does your qualification process stack up against these new realities? Don’t wait until a disaster hits to find out. DCA can set you on a proactive path today by
We have selected the part and qualified the manufacturer; now are we done? Absolutely not. Successful supply chains require continuous oversight and management. It is normal for component pricing to decrease over time. Periodic re-negotiation of pricing is required to achieve these savings.
Proper supplier oversight includes more than pricing improvements, however. Without a monitoring and feedback system, how do you or your suppliers know how well they are performing? Periodic scoring and regular supplier performance reviews are not only for large companies. They can assist in positioning any company as a valued customer with attendant service and pricing benefits.
Surprise demand and poor end-to-end visibility across the supply chain demands that a robust flex model be planned into the supply chain and periodically audited. Don’t assume that a capacity reserve or buffer is actually in place; you set yourself up to be surprised when your upside demands are not met. The flip side of the coin is excess inventory and management of returns. Don’t allow aging inventory to translate into and end-of-life scrap expense. Insure your subcontractors have an inventory management plan and they adhere to it. We can show you how to negotiate your return rights up front – not after the fact when you lack leverage.
Most qualification activities mark a place in time. Market conditions change throughout a product lifecycle and a periodic examination of your supply base along with an updated risk analysis is a wise investment of time and resource. Don’t be surprised by a preventable supply chain disruption. Let DCA show you how to leverage your supplier and subcontractor resources to perform the bulk of this oversight for you.
Counterfeiting has emerged as a serious threat to supply chain integrity. How well protected are you against ingress of bogus material? What is the origin of these bogus parts? How do they enter your supply chain? How do you detect and identify them? Top tier companies have all been victimized. If you source components or manufacture in China, you are almost certain to become a victim unless you take aggressive preventive actions.
It is not just about bogus parts; DCA’s definition of counterfeit parts includes non-approved part substitutions. Integrity of your supply chain and products also relies on adherence to your qualified designs. Illegal or non-approved part substitutions are common and may introduce significant product risks. How well do your distributors and contract manufacturers adhere to your approved parts lists?
DCA works closely with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as various industry groups to inform and advise clients on how to detect and control these bogus parts and part substitutions. We have the knowledge, and we are the acknowledged industry leaders in counterfeit component solutions.
Proper prevention is the best defense, let DCA’s experts audit your supply chain to asses your risks and assist in reducing them. Should you already be a victim, DCA has a network of in-country resources that can assist you in resolution.
