Buffer Stock Being Embraced by More Companies, Survey Shows

By Logan Wamsley

New data from the Hackett Group’s Working Capital Survey indicates that the global supply chain this year, facing inconsistent lead times and shipping delays, has made some drastic strategic changes toward the use of buffer stock. In a survey of 1,000 nonfinancial companies’ working capital levels, inventory balances increased from $1.19 trillion a year ago…

Where Last Time Buys Fit into the Aerospace Industry

By Logan Wamsley

There are some aerospace products that will never be considered obsolete. Many of the largest component manufacturers in the industry have been supplying nuts and bolts to aircraft specifications for decades — and other than oscillating between titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, and other exotic materials, those designs are not going away anytime soon. Other products…

The Aerospace Supply Chain in 10 Years

By Logan Wamsley

There’s an interesting paradox that can be attributed to the aerospace industry: despite being responsible for some most advanced military and consumer-based technology the world has ever seen, the supply chain that brings such technology to life is notoriously traditional. Where OEMs in other industries have adopted various software applications to monitor inventory and establish…

3 Simple Characteristics of a Successful Obsolescence Management Strategy

By Logan Wamsley

An obsolescence management strategy that mitigates the issues associated with end-of-life electronic components does not mean having the ability to quickly negotiate a last time buy, nor does it mean having long-term contracts with preferred OCM partners to fulfill inventory over a long-term period. It also doesn’t mean having the infrastructure to know when a…

The Consolidation of the Aerospace Supply Chain

By Logan Wamsley

While each industry can be defined by its own defining features and challenges, the aerospace industry stands apart as being particularly unique — and risky. By 2023, the Airbus Global Market Forecast projects there to be roughly 37,400 passenger and freight aircraft in regular rotation, up from 18,460 in 2014. Despite this growth, however, the…