Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1498238
MAY 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 55 ples and approval every time we source some- thing. Now, what are our limits?" We selected one commodity at a time and developed a sup- plier for each of the commodities. While the purchasing department had an attitude of part- nership, they were willing to step back and let us take care of the phone calls, purchase orders, and language issues. ey wanted us to be their solution for offshore sourcing. How has the economic dynamic in Asia changed? Are your customers paying close attention to that? e customer cares about vulnerability. Our model is to have our suppliers quote based o n t h e c u s to m e r 's e s t i - mated annual usage (EAU) vs. what they might need at that moment. For exam- ple, for a 1,200-piece EAU, we may have a minimum order quantity of 300 pieces, which would be a quarter's worth. We bring a quarter in, and as it starts dwindling down, we get permission from the customer to reor- der the next batch of mate- rial before running out of stock. It also allows us to verify whether the revision has changed. It's important to have product stocked locally because it eliminates shipping times. Having that buffer makes all the difference when it comes to keeping your production lines running. Some customers are concerned that, because of tariffs, that reliabil- ity may not be there. You can bring in a year's worth of inventory, but like the chip shortage, there's no end in sight; it may be another year before you get additional material. It's been chaotic. We're constantly aware of that and have the ability to move that product elsewhere—in an approval process—should that happen. But our buffered stock means we have an opportunity to spend some time doing so. By the way, you never burn a bridge when you leave a domes- tic supplier. Worst case scenario, I'll go back to that supplier, so I don't run out of inventory. How active are your suppliers in making suggestions to optimize designs? e suppliers we deal with are not bashful about making recommendations for better options, particularly for lower cost. When that happens, we definitely consider them, keeping in mind that we're dealing with custom com- modity products. It could be a new design, but they usually tend to be legacy. Our suppliers just follow the drawings. W h i l e a c u s t o m e r m a y have a drawing, that mechan- ical drawing is not always enough. If you supply a sam- ple of your product along with the mechanical draw- ing, the suppliers will analyze it closely enough to deter- mine whether that sample matches the print. Of course, what the customer wants is what has been working. But before we can proceed, we need to clarify whether we make it per the print or make it per the sample. Thus, the question, which one is the gold standard—the as-built or per the drawing? Exactly. Quality departments are a safeguard. It could be that the first few shipments that come in from the domestic supplier—or any supplier—work just fine, but over time, things change a little bit. e design is open enough that several deviations will probably work, but that's not a decision we make—that's on the customer. Bob, thanks for walking me through this. Anytime. SMT007 While a customer may have a drawing, that mechanical drawing is not always enough.