SUPPLY CHAIN
forced ships to be diverted to parts of Africa or South Asia.
This dependence on a global supply chain has increased the time it takes for many companies to service their customers, forcing them to localise. By bringing their manufacturing process closer to consumers, businesses can ensure a continuity of service and speedy supply, regardless of future global challenges.
The Just in Case strategy Before the pandemic, many businesses relied on the just-in-time (JIT) strategy. This inventory management strategy allows manufacturers to align orders of materials from suppliers with their production schedules, increasing efficiency and minimising inventory costs. This strategy works well when supply chains are reliable. However, the pandemic forced manufacturing to shut down, and when the markets reopened, there was a jump in demand. This, coupled with the other issues mentioned previously, means that JIT no longer works for many companies. To help ensure a continuity of service for customers, manufacturers can invest in holding more stock, also known as the just-in-case (JIC) strategy. JIC aims to minimise the likelihood that a product will sell out. Although this is typically used when companies cannot accurately forecast demand, it can also serve as a cushion in the event of supply disruptions. By ensuring the availability of products, businesses can avoid permanently losing
customers and suppliers. They can also prevent a supply chain collapse.
Reconnect with customers Just as the pandemic kept people from seeing their friends and families, a similar story was true for the commercial world. Businesses were not able to meet and connect with their customers or suppliers like they used to. With most restrictions now lifted, it is a great opportunity for companies to reconnect with their customers by investing in their field sales coverage. This is especially important for companies
who operate in regions that contain different languages and cultures, as having localised sales teams can provide a tailored service based on the needs of the customers in these regions.
PEI-Genesis is taking these steps and more to provide stability for its customers globally. It has invested in mitigating the effects of global issues. These investments are centred around its three pillars: speed, inventory, and being a trusted advisor to its customers. To provide speed and keep its 48-hour promise to its customers, it has opened an additional manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, USA, alleviating the pressure on its existing South Bend facility. It has also opened a facility in Zhuhai, China, because customs clearance meant it took over ten days to ship products from its other sites in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. PEI-Genesis has also invested in its inventory. It has ten million dollars more component stock than it did this time last year. This offers unrivalled availability for customers as it can offer the widest range of part numbers and selections. Finally, the company is returning to one of the things it was famous for before the pandemic, being a trusted advisor. This means having experts on the street in each market to drive customer relations. For example, PEI APAC has expanded its sales force to cover ten out of fourteen APAC markets with plans to include Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and the Philippines in the future. This enables it to bring solutions with new and existing products, while allowing it to give a more bespoke service to customers of different languages and cultures.
FEBRUARY 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS 43
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