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20 The PCB Magazine • July 2015 SUPPLy CHAIN IN THE 21 ST CENTURy continues Feature and ongoing supplier management tools. Pre- dictive assessment tools are performance indi- cators that should give that warm, fuzzy feel- ing about the ability of a potential supplier to become a long-term partner that performs at a high level. They also can identify alignment between your technology roadmap and that of the supplier, and the financial assessment can help avoid the serious task of having to move business out of a supplier that has just gone out of business. Predictive Assessment Tools • Supplier preferred attributes GAP analysis (first screening tool) • ISO certification (1 st qualification filter) • Supplier survey (quality system) • Lean assessment • Technology • Psychographics (demographics on steroids) • Supplier strategic direction assessment and index (matches supplier strategy/ roadmap to customer's) • Financial stability assessment tool (long-term viability) • Supplier contract outlining Ts & Cs and liability coverage for product • Establishment of commodity/supplier council or other approval body for approving new suppliers to the approved supplier list Ongoing Supplier Management You could call this section the "proper care & feeding of your suppliers." To be successful in today's supply chain environment, the cus- tomer/supplier relationship must be a collabor- ative one, and this requires time, effort and dili- gence. Regularly discussing performance, new programs & technology and the state of the re- lationship will foster collaboration and will put the supplier in a position to be successful. Supplier Management Tools • Supplier Rating System – OTD, quality, pricing/TCO, quote response, supply chain, etc. • Quarterly business reviews (suppliers prepared data set) – Performance review, quality concerns, responsiveness to SCARs and RMAs, price competitiveness, etc. – Corporate update presentations (supplier & customer) – Potential new programs/part numbers/ technology (supplier & customer) • Technology roadmap to drive future technology with existing suppliers Location, Location, Location Another aspect the strategy needs to con- sider is whether your supply chain should be regionalized or global. This is typically a hybrid based on the parts or commodity be- ing supplied. Small, lightweight parts such as PCBs, electronic components, cables, etc., can be global suppliers because freight is not a major factor. Heavy, large form factor parts like sheet metal, injection molded plas- tics, machined housings and die casts make more sense to regionalize near the customer base. Geographic consideration for large form factor products: • Size/weight of end product—logistics, costs inbound/outbound • Volume/demand by geography of end product • Product life cycle • Design stability • BOM content/characteristics (e.g., country of origin) • Labor content • Intellectual property • Technology/complexity • Location of design engineers for value engineering/DFX • Current location of manufacturing (where applicable) • Current location of large form factor suppliers (where applicable) • Supply chain scalability • Regional presence, global leverage • Lean supply chain pull methodologies • Proactive capacity planning • Accountable performance • Risk mitigation planning • Optimized tooling solutions