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.

When leveraged as part of a supplier development program, supply base optimization can dramatically speed up the implementation and improve the performance of lean supply chain initiatives.

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.

Forging is now a major global industry, supplying components for many of the world’s most innovative products and industries, which makes it imperative for supply chain professionals sourcing forged components to understand the process types, value stream map, technical advantages, and early supply partner involvement to effectively execute strategic procurement.

Too often supply partners are chosen for the wrong reasons or for short-term gains. Understanding a potential metal stamping supply partner’s capabilities, experience, pricing, and location will put you and your company in the best position to win for the long term.

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.

One of the more complex commodities in any industry is metal castings, which have many key commercial factors a procurement professional must consider prior to and during the procurement process.

Leading companies, both large and small, are going beyond just outsourcing commodities to also outsourcing core/strategic parts and services. It often makes financial and operational sense for smaller firms with scarce resources to outsource non strategic parts and non core competency services.

Building and maintaining a house shares many similarities with establishing and sustaining strategic procurement in an organization. In order to build a house one must first select the site, materials, and then oversee construction. Strategic procurement requires disciplined organization commitment to ensure implementation and lasting success. With the constant pressure that companies face today to decrease costs, increase quality, and better relationships, leveraging strategic procurement as a tool to drive results is important.

Professionals today at high growth technology companies are asking themselves, “How can my supply chain react quicker to customer demand fluctuation?” The answer is simple, adopt a demand-driven planning process. Sound simple enough? Well unfortunately it’s not that simple but below are some simple steps you can take to start to transform your supply chain to better support consumer demand fluctuation.