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28 SMT Magazine • December 2014 Identify It's one thing to identify potential suppli- ers when they are in abundance. It's another to identify a potential supplier that doesn't yet ex- ist. The best place to start would be by filtering through your existing suppliers. Metrics such as defect rates, on-time deliveries, and feedback from purchasing and supply chain folks is a great start. Another is in- dustry research. We often know much about our competitors, but little about members of our supply base's industry. In- ternet research will identify those potential suppliers that are taking steps to improve themselves and, as a result, are making the news. Another idea is to see who is exhibiting at trade shows. Pre-show advertising and the robustness of associated web- sites means you don't even need to attend a show to know who is exhibiting. And last, but not least, there are services geared to- wards helping the purchasing community identify potential PCB suppliers, such as The PCB List. educate Larger suppliers and cus- tomers have open access to busi- ness improvement tools such as Kai- zen, 6S, 6 Sigma, and Lean that can make them more efficient manufacturers. Other business tools for improved inventory turns, cash flow management, and business plan formulation are oft overlooked in small companies, but can add great benefits for the long term. Mentorship programs with the supply base can aid in this type of knowledge transfer. Once implemented at the supplier, these improvements can pay dividends indefinitely both to the supplier and yourself as the customer in the form of cost im- provements and a more robust supply base. Another area of concern for suppliers is obtaining certifications. These could include TS16949 (automotive), AS9100 (aerospace), Mil- Prf-31032 (military), and ISO14000 (environ- mental). Smaller suppliers often don't have the resources to read and interpret the standards from scratch. However, customers have often already earned these certifications and have training pro- grams for their quality control personnel. These same training programs can help a supplier leap towards achieving higher-level certifications than the standard ISO9000. Support Supplier development in many cases will require in- vestment. This is typically a cart before the horse situation in which the supplier needs the added business in order to facilitate the investment, and the customer needs the supplier to make the invest - ments in order to award addi- tional business. There can be a compromise that could limit risk and open opportunity for both parties. While it goes against the core of what has become the norm for purchasing, custom - ers could help fund gradual investment programs in sys- tems and capabilities via in- creased prices on goods cur- rently purchased from those sup- pliers. Of course, this would have to be open book on both parties' sides wherein the increased profits are scheduled for discrete in- vestments. The long-term understanding would be that the price increases would be scaled back over time as investments are completed. Incentivize At the onset of engaging in a supplier de- velopment program, it's critical to outline strict action items and goals on the part of the suppli- er. From the customer standpoint, you need to outline the incentives for the supplier in order to achieve those goals. Namely, long-term sup- ply programs give suppliers the ability to create FEATurE OUTLOOK FOr 2015 ANd beYONd: A SUPPLY cHAIN PerSPecTIve continues Larger suppliers and customers have open access to business improvement tools such as Kaizen, 6S, 6 Sigma, and Lean that can make them more efficient manufacturers. Other business tools for improved inventory turns, cash flow management, and business plan formulation are oft overlooked in small companies, but can add great benefits for the long term. " "