The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted for all of us just how important the safety and sanitization of a site are to manufacturing. Without the proper safety measures, you put your employees and your business at risk. In electronics manufacturing, a variety of risks make safety considerations even more essential. With chemical, electrical, and material hazards all…
Two leading research firms measure “reshoring” differently, so their analysis rarely agrees. Conclusions for 2020 were no exception, but U.S. manufacturers say they’re committed to reducing their dependence on foreign supplies. The Reshoring Initiative’s index, which tracks jobs and foreign direct investment (FDI), reported a combined total of 160,649 new announcements for 2020. Reshoring exceeded…
Analog ICs remain a critical component in nearly all of today’s digital-centric systems. Consumer, computing, communications, automotive, and industrial/medical systems rely on analog devices to manage power consumption and to help extend battery life in portable devices. IC Insights’ April Update to the 2021 McClean Report ranked the leading analog IC suppliers for 2020. Collectively,…
The U.S. manufacturing sector continued its expansion in May, but shortages of components, raw materials and labor are constraining factories’ ability to meet skyrocketing demand. “Supplier performance — deliveries, quality, it’s all suffering,” a tech executive told the Institute for Supply Management. “Demand is high, and we are struggling to find employees to help us…
With Intel Corp. predicting that the chip shortage could last years, foundries — and chip makers — are in a position to increase prices. TrendForce reports various foundries are raising their wafer prices and adjusting their product mixes to ensure profitability. Back in March, Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion in U.S. chip facilities…
There is no end in sight for global supply delays stemming from trade restrictions and transportation logjams. Demand continues to rise for U.S.-manufactured goods, but raw material and component disruptions are hindering production expansion. “Recent record-long lead times, wide-scale shortages of critical basic materials, rising commodities prices and difficulties in transporting products are continuing to…
Business stakeholders often overlook sourcing and procurement departments, viewing them as tactical purchasing and contract administrators or even as barriers to the buying process. The pandemic gave procurement an opportunity to prove its value, as businesses relied on cost savings and critical supplies such as PPE-related goods and services to stay afloat and keep employees…
Purchasing and supply executives expect manufacturing growth will continue for the rest of 2021 with several metrics – capacity, capital expenditures and revenue – exceeding forecasts of late 2020. There is hope that the corner has been turned on the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Institute for Supply Management, and both the U.S. manufacturing and…
Your organization runs a tight ship, building profit by taking advantage of operational efficiencies borne from technological innovations. Thanks to IoT and RFID, you now track products from the point of origin to the point of consumption. So how can you leverage your company’s WAN to optimize your supply chain management? Deploying efficient global supply…
“Digitization” is, like “resilience,” the new mantra for the supply chain. Digital applications range from automated paperwork to complex networks that provide end-to-end visibility of global supply and manufacturing operations. Digitized systems work across geographies and products to provide real-time data on inventory, delays, disruptions and resolutions to manufacturing sites and supply-chain partners. Interconnected supply…