The most trusted source of electronic component market intelligence
The most trusted source of electronic component market intelligence
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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,…
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…
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…