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What are you paying the most attention to as we enter 2025? Find out what we learned when we asked that question. Join us as we explore five main themes in the new year.
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Manufacturing Isn’t Linear; Stop Planning That Way
August 21, 2023 | Sylvain Perron, CogiscanEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
In the last couple of years, exacerbated by the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncomfortable reality is that many manufacturers are not well prepared to properly deal with and respond to last minute changes in the supply chain, worker availability, or major swings in customer demand. Many of you likely have a painful story or two about scrambling to address unexpected changes in the production plan and schedule over the last few years.
With the pandemic mostly in the rearview mirror, many organizations today are investing in solutions that will better equip them to handle any major disruption using tools that will provide both enhanced intelligence and agility. We can’t control the future, nor any surprise disruptions to the global marketplace or supply chain, but we can look at our digital transformation strategy, and more specifically, digital visibility tools that help us better plan production.
Adapting to Last Minute Changes
Given the current challenges related to component allocation and extended supply-chain lead times, manufacturers today are regularly being forced to change production plans due to last minute changes in material availability. It’s the sad truth that critical components often don’t arrive on the required date for production, and planners are left scrambling to figure out how to re-align the production flow. Planners need to be equipped with a tool that appropriately evaluates the reality of materials so production orders can be easily and efficiently re-scheduled if a critical component doesn’t show up when originally scheduled.
In many of these no-show material cases, planners need the flexibility to assess production options even without all required components, perhaps cutting the job in half based on available material and running that order through to the testing process, then holding those units at mechanical assembly until the rest of the order is ready to be built when the remaining material is in-house. The ability to identify and address risks beforehand ensures manufacturers can maintain continuity in operations and minimize the impact of no-show components.
Another complication many electronics manufacturers deal with regularly is when a top customer requests an urgent and hot order. These last-minute orders usually wreak havoc on production when they’re plopped in unexpectedly. Planners need visibility on how to effectively squeeze in an urgent order and clearly evaluate available capacity and downstream effects on production. Simultaneously balancing multiple delivery requirements can be nightmarish, so the ability to easily visualize and choose the least painful option—for example, weighting profit margins more heavily with minimal impact to the overall production plan—is of the utmost importance in these hot order situations.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the August 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Ensuring Compliance with the U.S. CHIPS Act: Identifying the Source of Electronic Components
01/13/2025 | Dr. Eyal Weiss, CybordThe U.S. CHIPS Act aims to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing and enhance supply chain security. As part of this initiative, manufacturers must ensure compliance with specific regulations regarding the sourcing of electronic components. This white paper provides an overview of the compliance requirements, relevant laws and standards, and introduces innovative technological solutions to verify the provenance of electronic components.
Global Sourcing Spotlight: The Surprising World of Offshore B2B Industrial Values
01/08/2025 | Bob Duke -- Column: Global Sourcing SpotlightWhen people want to buy industry products, they often look at a list of products: PCBs, PCBAs, injection molding, batteries, and transformers. However, if you bypass brick-and-mortar facilities, you can usually find better-value products if you search the globe. This is especially true with B2B products. With the right strategy and a keen eye for quality, companies can uncover opportunities to source essential industrial products from offshore suppliers at competitive prices. Here’s a list of some of those products and where to source them.
Electronics Industry Sentiment Dips in December
01/03/2025 | IPCThe electronics industry faced a dip in sentiment this December, as the Demand Index declined 1.8 percent according to IPC’s December Sentiment of the Global Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Report. It remained below 100 for the fourth consecutive month, signaling continued contraction.
EIPC Technical Snapshot: Factors Driving the Fluctuating Demand for PCBs
12/11/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007EIPC continued its series of online Technical Snapshots with a webinar on Nov. 21 presented by Dr. Hayao Nakahara of N.T. Information Ltd, who summarised world PCB production and shared his vision of the market over the next five years. With information gathered from many sources, Nakahara examined factors driving the increasing demand for printed circuit boards.
ViTrox Expands Midwest Reach with ASC International as New Sales Channel Partner
12/09/2024 | SMTAViTrox Americas Inc. is pleased to announce ASC International as its new Sales Channel Partner and Manufacturers’ Representative for Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.