In the "here today, obsolete tomorrow" world of electronics, no supply chain partner wants to get stuck with mountains of parts for yesterday's hot-selling cell phone or PC. But running a lean operation doesn't have to mean pushing your inventory problems onto someone else. Solectron found a better way.
As supply chain management challenges go, running an electronics industry supply chain may be the business world's equivalent of playing in the extreme sports leagues. For these players, the challenge is to run lean— unburdened by inventories of components for products that could become obsolete in a flash—and to do that without sacrificing reliability. The industry's penchant for sourcing in far-flung locations doesn't make it any easier. Without stocks on hand, how can you possibly guarantee the just-in-time delivery of parts that are produced 10,000 miles away up a dirt road in China?
In the last few years, one popular method of dealing with this dilemma has been to hand off the challenges and risks to someone else, namely the supplier. Under a strategy known as vendor managed inventory (VMI), suppliers of parts and components retain ownership of that inventory up until the moment it's needed, often locating supply depots right next to the manufacturer's facilities. It's ideal for the manufacturer—which gets what it wants almost the moment it needs it—but it's not a great proposition for the supplier, which is forced to assume the burden of juggling inventory ordered vs. inventory needed.
Of course, that's not to imply that all companies using VMI are gleefully handing off inventory responsibilities to their suppliers, then running as fast as they can in the other direction. Some, like electronics manufacturer Solectron Corp., have taken a very different tack. For Solectron, which manufactures components like printed circuit boards and routers and assembles PCs and cell phones, getting lean has meant getting more, not less, involved in the part of the supply chain controlled by its suppliers. Solectron's philosophy is that it makes sense to minimize inefficiencies for suppliers, since they are a crucial part of the supply chain too. It has also managed to move toward a change in mindset about internal processes—bringing manufacturing and distribution together as a whole, treating manufacturing and logistics as part of a seamless process.
Solectron plays a pivotal role in the brave new world of efficient electronics distribution. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company counts among its customers such high-tech giants as Cisco Systems (13 percent of sales), Nortel, Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson and IBM, which all outsource production to Solectron to cut their own costs. Solectron operates around 60 manufacturing plants around the world and deals with more than 3,000 suppliers globally. "We have parts coming at us from all sorts of countries. From a supply chain perspective, keeping visibility of where our stuff is all the time is difficult," says Jim Molzon, Solectron's vice president of customer fulfillment and global logistics.
Beyond VMI
VMI wasn't providing Solectron with the kinds of efficiencies Molzon wanted, and so in the summer of 2003, the company commenced a "lean supply chain" initiative that focused on streamlining both the supply chain and manufacturing operations. The process is effectively taking Solectron out of VMI and into a supply chain where no one's trying to shove responsibility for anything onto anyone. It also, ultimately, benefits the end customer, Molzon says, by improving operations all around.
"Instead of carrying inventory just in case, we're working very closely with our customers, anticipating their requirements, and we're working with suppliers to create more of a pull environment," says Molzon. Allowing real-time information about real consumption to pull inventory through the supply chain rather than producing parts on the basis of far-ranging predictions and then pushing them into the manufacturing process is, of course, not a new idea. But it's hard to do, and it's particularly crucial in the electronics industry where delivery times on some components run as long as 45 to 60 days and the products they go into may become obsolete in the same period.
Molzon wanted to create a "pull environment" by getting information to suppliers about what Solectron's needs actually were, rather than relying on forecasts. "Forecasts are important, but the actual physical movement of components from suppliers to our manufacturing plants is more based on actual consumption," he says. "We historically had forecasts and brought inventory in on the basis of those. If demand changed, you had too much or not enough."
Molzon says he's working on "fundamentally improving the supply chain." Forecasts, Molzon says, would try to predict demand 26 weeks from now, rendering them less than perfect.
"Part of it is getting information out more quickly, but it's more about getting information out about what the actual demand is—what did we produce yesterday? What are we going to produce in the next week?"Molzon says.
All the same, for Molzon, working with suppliers to get a leaner supply chain going meant one very important thing had to happen first of all—getting his own house in order.
"The tack we took in [the] first six months was internally focused, getting our own operations lean, getting our facilities so they could act in a lean fashion. Then the supplier initiative has been in the last nine months or so."
The next step was to pick his battles. "We're working with our key suppliers initially. We can't dedicate our resources to all of them, but with the key suppliers we have initiatives for better communication."
It's an evolution, not a revolution, Molzon says, and it doesn't mean Solectron is taking back all the responsibility for getting inventory right. "At the end of the day, there has been a pushing back onto the suppliers." But Solectron's version of lean is so collaborative that Molzon no longer considers the term "VMI" applicable. "It's a different approach to working with the supply base, making us and them much more responsive to needs in the marketplace."
Knowledge is power
These days, Molzon is working with suppliers and other partners in the supply chain to get a more realistic overall estimate of the landed cost of goods. Logistics costs typically are "baked in" to purchasing estimates, instead of being kept separate. "[Estimates] used to be based more on labor costs and the intuitive idea that it must be cheaper in China," Molzon says. "We're moving now to looking at logistics costs, duty and taxes, and we're looking at the overall duty structure, taking the entire supply chain and incorporating all the cost drivers, not just the easy ones, to find the piece cost rate."
Katherine Smith, global division representative at Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Interliance LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in foreign trade, agrees that this kind of analysis is helping change supply chain practices.
"Predictability through technology is developing into a must-have for global manufacturers in order to make the right choices. For example, if a large order comes through to a manufacturer in China and must be turned around, then shipped off to an assembler in Romania, and then to a packaging facility in Mexico for final distribution out of Irvine, California, what kind of costs are accumulated?" Smith asks. "Forecasting these puzzles in order for a company to save in operating costs is taking a primary role in the bigger picture of manufacturing and distribution."
However, what works for Solectron isn't necessarily going to work for all electronics manufacturers, Smith points out, and VMI is by no means dead. "Manufacturers and distributors can't wear a one-size-fits-all solution for their supply chain and must instead customize and take pieces from the processes that work best for them."
One way or another, manufacturers need to take ownership of what's going on in their extended supply chain. "Manufacturers are ultimately responsible for the quality of the inventory delivered to the distributor," says Smith, "and this puts the pressure on them to tightly rein in the supply chain."
a kinder, gentler VMI
Depending on who you talk to, VMI is either the way of the future or a scourge visited on hapless suppliers. To a customer that has managed to shift the ownership and responsibility for managing inventory to its suppliers, VMI probably looks like a pretty good deal. But to a supplier burdened with the costs and responsibilities of managing and replenishing its customers' inventory, it probably looks more like a headache.
Is there a way to make VMI work for both parties? GT Nexus Inc., the logistics technology firm in Alameda, Calif., has done some research on that question. The company recently released a white paper in conjunction with the Electronic Supply Chain Association (ECSA) that contained suggestions about how the electronics manufacturing industry could continue to reap the rewards of VMI by working more cooperatively with suppliers.
According to the white paper, the trouble is that many of the decisions a manufacturer makes about sourcing come from the purchasing department, without consultation with the logistics guys. This creates a fundamental conflict of interests. "Low cost, global sourcing is driven by the procurement organization and aims at cost of goods sold (COGS) reduction, at the expense of higher transportation cost and leadtimes. Conversely, VMI's champion is the supply chain organization, striving to gain operational efficiencies, based on short and frequent replenishment cycles. At first glance, these trends certainly seem hopelessly at odds," comments the GT Nexus/ESCA report, released in November 2004.
It's a tricky knot to tease apart. But at least the logistics department can work on lessening its share of costs by working with suppliers, the report says. In that spirit, it offers the following suggestions:
Take advantage of technology that enables users to obtain more detailed tracking and tracing information on individual parts. That way, goods in transit become part of the counted inventory in a "virtual warehouse."
Buy global freight services across your company's total transportation volume, sharing those rates with the VMI suppliers when they move the inventory.
Track total logistics costs, including the leg involving the VMI supplier, and share and minimize these costs between buyer and supplier.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.