Twenty years ago, I remember hearing talk about lead-free soldering at a turnkey manufacturing facility in Massachusetts. At that time, the factory managers were already contemplating the possibility that future regulation would ban the use of lead in electronic circuits and were studying possible alternatives. Five years later, in 2002, the European Union (EU) passed…
Outsourcing labor, such as supply chain management, can seem intimidating for many companies. The additional fear of “sending jobs away” can also make company owners reluctant to outsource any of their processes to other companies. Despite this reluctance, companies can often find outsourcing beneficial, as the process can allow companies to work more effectively and…
To be effective globally, organizations need to foster cultural intelligence, especially in senior management. A couple of weeks ago, I met with the chief operating officer of a leading contract manufacturer with $18 billion annual revenue. He was interested in our technology, and I know he has a reputation for being influential within his organization.…
Offshoring. Twenty to thirty years ago, it was an idea whose time had come. To take advantage of numerous potential benefits, many companies decided to move manufacturing operations offshore. It made a lot of sense. Countries like China, India, the Philippines and others could offer significant savings driven in large part by lower labor and…
We are about to close another very exciting year in Europe that has had–and will continue to have–a huge impact on supply chains and their performance. GDP growth in the EU remains weak, despite massive stimulus and the recent sharp fall in oil prices. In addition, the slowdown in China will tend to hold back…
Printing technology in some form has been with us in some form for most of recorded history. As early as the year 618, the T'ang Dynasty in China applied ink to carved wooden blocks in order to create multiple copies on paper. The evolution has continued from there. Now, the printing market is considerable and…
The world's first independent certification to recognize organizations that have put in place a framework to measure, manage, and reduce carbon emissions across their supply chains was launched by Carbon Trust on September 30th at the British Academy in central London. The Carbon Trust Standard for Supply Chain certification was created to provide a management…
Bath, Wiltshire, UK : In June 2015, the number of substances of very high concern (SVHC) on the REACH Candidate List Substances increased to 163. Article 33 of the REACH Regulation requires companies who supply articles which contain more than 0.1% by weight of any REACH Candidate List Substance to provide their customers with “sufficient…
Calls for stricter regulation of medical devices within the European Union (EU) conitinues, a reality that will impact the work of many electronics OEMs, distributors and component manufacturers. Changes have been continuous. The European Commission proposed new regulations in 2012 for medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) to replace the existing directives.…
Pressure is mounting for more transparency on possible human trafficking in supply chains, with new legislation in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Photo credit: Imagens Evangélicas In March, the U.K. enacted the Modern Slavery Act of 2015, which takes effect in October. The law requires companies with annual worldwide sales of more…