Approximately 37% of all new product launches fail, making the understanding of why they fail imperative to reducing risk and improving organizational strategy.

A Supplier Quality Management System is developed to encourage continuous improvement by clearly communicating your company’s expectations and requirements to your supply partners. It also helps ensure that a professional and structured exchange is achieved between all parties on all issues regarding product Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Responsiveness.

Supply Chain as a Service is a virtual supply chain team enabled by cloud software that supports all or part of a company’s supply chain operations. A virtual Supply Chain as a Service team partners with a company’s existing team to execute procurement, production control, manufacturing, quality, warehousing, and logistics projects or daily operations.

Skills acquired through degrees, certifications, and training allow you to attain the industry position you desire in the job market. As with pursuing a career path by acquiring the needed skills, an organization’s strategy can be realized through selecting the appropriate supporting manufacturing solutions that allow a company to better compete in the hyper competitive global economy.

The key to successfully managing logistics comes from a well thought out strategy on how companies will reach the consumer base. Logistics & Inventory Management is a very critical supporting function on how these activities will be executed. Recent studies show that nearly 50% of businesses surveyed continue to see logistics as a nonstrategic business function, while the other 50% are investing in developing logistics as a competitive advantage.

Talented product designers and engineers today do a wonderful job painstakingly uncovering customer needs by spending countless hours interviewing potential customers about their biggest pains. Tech entrepreneurs then successfully develop painkiller products that address these customers’ needs.

Until recently I would have cringed seeing the word “Disruptive” anywhere near “Supply Chain.” This pause for concern is a result of the now common industry phase “Supply Chain Disruption” which is utilized to describe everything from a localized component supply disruption to a global supply disruption with multiple suppliers due to a natural disaster.

We are fortunate to work with some of the most innovative OEMs, Tier Is/IIs/IIIs and Aftermarket companies in the world and have launched supply chain operations in the US and EU that have included everything from carbon fiber wheels to electric vehicles.

The golden age of software technology may soon collide with the future of efficient manufacturing. Additive manufacturing and 3D printing processes are now carving a niche by integrating computer programming and CAD with component manufacturing. According to the data from research firm Canalys, the 3D printing industry is forecasted to grow by 56 percent to $5.2 billion in 2015 and quadruple in growth over the next five years.

Supply Chain professionals at early stage ventures and high growth technology companies face unique challenges compared to their peers at large, established Fortune 1000 companies. It is true that many of the same best practices apply but it is often the application of these best practices where many professionals stumble.