Archive for Supply Chain
8 Things You Need To Know Before Doing Any Business With Any Distributor
Posted by: | CommentsIn the perfect world, you would always be able to buy direct from manufacturers. But in the real world, there are times you need to do business with distributors, rep-firms, and independents. Before you put your trust – and your reputation – into the hands of any distributor, take the time to ask yourself these eight questions basic questions.
1. Is the company ISO 9001:2000 and AS9120 certified. A lot of brokers will boast that they are ISO certified but, in today’s market, basic ISO is not stringent enough to screen for counterfeit parts. And, before buying anything from the independent market, it’s important to make sure that your supplier’s quality protocol is Military/Aerospace grade, so you know you’re getting authentic, perfect material every time, without exception.
2. Does the supplier have a solid facility with a ‘bricks and mortar’ warehouse, an entire department devoted to shipping and receiving, and the staff to screen for quality assurance. Many “brokers” are just one-man shows who work out of their garage and ship components from the nearest FedEx at Kinko’s shop. The risks of doing business with an outfit like that are obvious. A quick check of the address on Google Earth will show you whether the location is an actual warehouse or just a suburban home.
3. Do they field an experienced team? Again, that means more than one person wearing all the hats. But it also means that you’re working with experienced veterans who know what they have, where to get what you need, and how to get it fast. Any competent distributor should have multiple purchasing agents screening through the OEM and CM excess inventories of the world. That way, when faced with a big shortage, you’ll know your supplier has many minds leveraging their collective knowledge and experience to meet your needs.
4. Does the broker have a bulletproof quality screening process? You can screen the broker, but it’s the broker’s job to screen their suppliers and all the components they get on your behalf. They need to make sure their supply stream is completely traceable and without compromise from unqualified sources, so yours will be too. Choose a distributor that is ahead of the curve in Quality Control. The counterfeit market is very savvy these days, and many ISO certified distys do not have the testing in place to discern what is authentic and what is not.
5. How many accounts does your sales representative handle? You don’t want to deal with someone who is spread so thin that they can’t give you the attention you deserve. You want someone who is always available and able to help in any situation. In fact a good sales rep at your distributor of choice– should be almost like having a virtual assistant. You want someone with experience, strong work ethic and that cares about keeping you on their client list for many years.
6. What kind of engineering support does the company offer? Procurement effort can be confusing with upscreening, exact crosses, drop in replacements, programming, erasing, and testing. A distributor with a good engineering team knows what will fit your needs and what will cause component system failure and weed them out so you won’t waste your time and your company’s resources sorting through options that are not viable.
7. Get references. Any company that meets all of the above criteria and will be a true extension of your organization should be able to provide multiple references from Fortune 500 companies proving their track record.
8. Make sure your distributor has a web based forum where you can submit RFQ’s and get a confirmed quote same day, access unlimited data sheets, and track your shipments. Having to call into a phone system every time you need to expedite a request can be tedious and time consuming. Make sure your distributor can handle all of your requests electronically in addition to giving you the hands on service that you expect. Click here to submit your RFQ.
American Wind Energy Powering Up
Posted by: | CommentsMove over Henry Ford. Atlantic Wind & Solar is planning to create an automotive-style assembly line for wind turbines. It’s a move that could dramatically boost the wind energy industry in the United States. And it’s one more sign that companies with ties to the American wind industry – especially component manufacturers – should be gearing up for a big boost in demand.
According to the U.S. Energy Department, our country’s share of the wind turbine market has already grown from less than 30% in 2005 to about 50% in 2008, adding roughly 8,400 jobs in 2008 alone. But more is coming. Twenty-eight states have passed laws mandating that utilities get a percentage of their power from renewable sources like wind. Nordex USA – a U.S. subsidiary of a German wind turbine manufacturer – has broken ground on a new plant in Arkansas that will produce 300 turbines a year by 2012. And now Atlantic Wind and Solar is hoping to create an automated fabrication line that would pump out a completed 1.5 Mw wind turbine every hour. That’s 2,080 windmills each year.
Where will Nordex, Atlantic and companies like them get their components? Right here in the U.S.A.
How do I know? Because experts agree that a local supply chain is more important in wind turbine manufacturing and assembly than in many other industries. Over 8,000 components go into a completed wind turbine. Unlike, say, the electronics industry, those parts are not tiny, easy-to-ship microchips. Many are big and heavy, which means transporting them internationally costs big bucks. That makes now the time for component suppliers to lay the groundwork for growth in this expanding market, building up an infrastructure that will get all those windmills turning.
