Featured OEM Blog Entries
From the Editors and the Community
Bruce Rayner
Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM
2/17/2012 - In 2011, the US government dramatically stepped up its fight against electronic component counterfeiters. Border control and interdiction was beefed up, and Congress conducted hearings and ...
Bruce Rayner
Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM
2/15/2012 - When it comes to manufacturing, the world's attention is usually on China. For over a decade now, the People's Republic has been at the top of every international OEM's list as the ...
Bruce Rayner
Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM
2/10/2012 - There's no question that the environment is playing an increasingly important role in the average OEM's ability to manage its supply chain. Just last year, the floods in Thailand wreaked ...
Bruce Rayner
Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM
2/8/2012 - By 2050, 70 percent of the world's population will be living in urban areas, according to the United Nations. That's up from about 55 percent today. It doesn't sound like a huge shift ...
Bruce Rayner
Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM
2/3/2012 - Despite months of street protests and legal challenges, it looks like the path has been cleared for production to begin at a new rare earth processing plant in Malaysia. On Wednesday, the ...
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Message Boards
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:45:52 PM
Thanks, i should get on to my Poll wrap article. Nice talking to you guys.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:45:36 PM
Thank you, @Sara. And thanks, @Dave, for the great debate. Good topic!
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:45:26 PM
@Sara- It was huge in the 90's and expect it will be again. IT changed the way we ship product, manage inventory, etc
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:45:09 PM
Okay gentlemen, I'm afraid I must skedaddle. Thanks for the chat!
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:44:43 PM
We had similar problems with global supply chains in the '90s and we were able to fix those with MRP and ERP and other major changes to supply chains in the last decade
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:44:18 PM
I wonder how large a part IT systems integration plays in deciding what suppliers to use...  that's just a passing thought
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:44:06 PM
@Curt- True, but not all countries or other types of geographical concentrations are built the same. But as you point out, this isn't the problem with the idea of cloud manufacturing for a single company. This is the problem of the large scale...
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:42:13 PM
@David, even when there are national concentrations there are generally options within the countries. If you build your product around a component that has only a single source, that's a design decision. It might or might not be a good decision,...
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:41:09 PM
Still, I'm all for doing this. I think it is important to design your suppliers and your in-house talent understanding what might happen.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:40:18 PM
For instance, there aren't very many places right now except Japan to get certain components for computers. That isn't because other places couldn't make them. It is because other places surrendered the market in order to specialize on somehting...
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:38:33 PM
Basically, this model relies on the belief that certain countries have centers of talent or resources. As we accept this and rely on it, the more you re-concentrate risk as economies specialize.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:37:05 PM
@Curt- No doubt this is true in many aspects of the company.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:36:40 PM
Multiple sources of silicon? Awesome. multiple sources of programming contractors? Harder, but possible. Multiple sources of people dealing with your proprietary data to build a new product for you? Frightening to most.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:36:19 PM
@David, I would argue that cloud manufacturing makes it ever more a question of choice rather than necessity.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:35:26 PM
@Curt- Well, the thing is that single vendor lock-in happens in two different ways. One way it happens is by choice, the other is by necessity.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:34:45 PM
It is absolutely true of materials sourcing. Human talent is harder to re-source. that said. The belief is that it will make things less vulnerable.
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:34:38 PM
@David, I think you're making an argument against "Single Vendor Lock-in" on a topic not related to IT infrastructure!
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:34:08 PM
maybe that's not the case with EVERY supplier, but I don't see how it's any worse than the status quo
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:33:49 PM
@David, the nice thing about cloud manufacturing is that it should be much easier to route around knots in individual hoses. There are thousands of fab operations around the world who would love to pick up emergency work building just about...
Thursday July 28, 2011 12:33:24 PM
It depends on what gets cut and how much you are willing to trust another small shop to pick up with no knowledge of your company or previous products.
More Blog Entries
Enterprise DELLiberations
Josh Neland
Josh Neland, OEM Solutions Technology Strategist, Dell
1/12/2012 - If you've been to an arcade or living room lately, you know that video games have come a long way since the days of Pac-Man. What you might not know is just how closely the technology ...
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