Key Metrics and Supply Alert
Staff -- Purchasing, 4/15/2004
- Be privy to secrets of a successful integrated supply agreement! Kellogg Co. recently extended an agreement with Precision Industries, a distributor based in Omaha, Nebr., to manage its MRO supply chain for 15 locations through 2007. Mary Enos, buyer, MRO Headquarters Procurement, Kellogg Co., talks through her company's relationship with its MRO distributor as well as one of its manufacturer suppliers, 3M Industrial Business, during a panel discussion on "MRO Sourcing Strategy: Increasing Uptime, Improving the Bottom Line" at 12 noon ET on April 20 at PURCHASING magazine's Global Procurement Conference. To register, go to: www.globalprocurement.purchasing.com.
- Why is supplier contract lifecycle management important to your organization? Dr. Sanjay Rajagopalan, chief technology officer at Covigna coined the term and answers this question during his presentation, "Contract Management Technologies in Procurement," at 3 pm ET on April 21 at PURCHASING magazine's Global Procurement Conference. Hint: The technology allows purchasing operations to standardize contracting processes, implement policies effectively and automate supplier compliance to contract terms and conditions. To register, go to: www.globalprocurement.purchasing.com. Despite booming demand, buyers can expect NAND flash memory tags to remain flat. More suppliers are jumping into the flash market and market leaders Samsung and Toshiba are battling to keep market share. In addition, flash is used in cost-conscious consumer electronics equipment where price increases are not tolerated.
- Prepare for higher resistor prices. Reason. Manufacturers say their suppliers are requesting surcharges for high-priced nickel. Resistor makers say high energy prices also are driving up materials and logistics costs.
- All signs point to higher tags for standard logic. Prices for standard logic have bottomed out after falling about 18% in 2003. Logic demand is growing and is back to levels seen prior to the electronics industry downturn. Logic manufacturing capacity utilization rates are between 80-95%, depending on manufacturer. At the same time, special pricing that distributors receive is rising.
- Is the world ready for cellular telephones equipped with global positioning system (GPS) technology? That's what Japanese mobile carrier KDDI Corp. is trying to find out. The GPS phones (called EZ Navi Walk) have been on the streets of Tokyo in three models for six months now. They use satellites to find out where their bearer is at any time and work like car-navigation equipment to guide people to their destinations.
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