Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1288481
8 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2020 Last month, we looked at leadership, which was a philosophy-based theme, yet we focused on discussions and examples that are pertinent to our industry. The truth is that leadership is the foundation of a successful business. With leadership in place, the pillars of manufactur- ing can stand on a solid platform. For this issue, we identified four pillars: rev- enue, supply chain, workforce and technology. Our goal was to examine these four pillars as strategies that affect what happens on the manufacturing floor. As we discussed these pillars with our experts, something interesting emerged: The pillars don't stand on their own. Rather, they're intertwined. This became clear when I talked with Happy Holden. Happy was adamant that to make all four pillars function properly in your business, you first need to benchmark your business and then create a roadmap. According to Happy, the roadmap identifies the specific functions required from all four pillars. Furthermore, Happy maintains the opinion that each pillar supports the others. As you read along in our conversation, you'll see that he's right. I also spoke with Tim Rodgers on costs and expenses. Tim quickly leveled his sights on the supply chain. He made the point that proper supply chain management influences not only cost containment, but also business optimiza- tion. In our conversa- tion, Tim made a num- ber of points regarding the current and future state of the supply chain or supply web. I got the sense that taking a ho- listic approach to pro- curement exerts a strong i n f l u e n c e o n s a l e s, marketing, engineer- ing, and manufactur- ing. Tim's points were backed up, in part, by iNEMI's recent Electron- ics Goes Green Confer- ence that went virtual (read the report on the conference by Pete Star- key here), wherein ma- terials regulations, data Nolan's Notes by Nolan Johnson, I-CONNECT007 The Four Pillars of Manufacturing