Understanding a potential machining supply partner’s capabilities, experience, quality, and costs will put you and your company in the best position to win in the long term.

Teach your team to develop suppliers by analyzing the total cost of ownership, identifying and maintaining supplier performance metrics, and developing strategic partnerships through transparent communication.

As OEMs and suppliers move forward into a volatile trade climate and are faced with the possibility of needing to onshore operations, procurement teams need to be adaptable and responsive to potential policy changes and how they impact sourcing the supply chain.

Working with supply partners to identify cost savings helps improve their cost structures, develop and maintain strong supply partner relationships, and subsequently, increase end customer supply chain value.

We recently sat down with Steve Polakowski, President at ESG Automotive, Inc., a leading global electronic and electrical system engineering services firm, to aid our efforts in assembling a list of top tips that every supply chain leader should know when sourcing electronic and electrical systems.

The global market for industrial fasteners is massive and complicated, and forecasted to reach $81 Billion USD by 2018. Knowing a few key characteristics about the fasteners you are sourcing will expedite and improve sourcing results.

Organizations who look beyond the mere social good of engaging diverse suppliers will reap the largest benefit through decreased supplier risk, improved financial performance and strong, cohesive supply base relationships.

This long term approach to one shot bidding and collaborative costing reduction initiatives will lead to stronger supply partner relationships and enhanced supply chain customer value.

Winning a motorsports endurance race is the result of careful planning, teamwork, and execution requiring a large upfront investment in time and resources. Developing a localized supply base aboard is similar to preparing for a race in that it takes supply base building steps of planning, qualifying, and establishing that untimely create an international world class supply base that can support a new plant.

Law firms have long specialized in efficiently and effectively supplying legal guidance to companies. As with professional legal services, manufacturing a new product is best left to experts that have a core competency in the desired supply need in order to ensure product launch success.