Anatomy of a winner

Paul Teague, Editor-in-Chief -- Purchasing, 9/1/2005

Like many executives running major corporations these days, Clay Jones, chairman, president and CEO of Rockwell Collins, has had his share of sleepless nights. Sourcing and supply chain management have been among the many things "that can keep me awake at night," he says. He is sleeping more peacefully than ever, though. The reason: In the late 1990s he decided to put in place a material and supply operation that focuses on strategic sourcing and supply chain management, with a heavy emphasis on Lean.

After the company spun-off from Rockwell International in 2001, Jones extended the Lean philosophy to the material and supply operation. And then he did one other thing: He turned loose Kent Statler and Roger Weiss and told them to build a first-rate supply chain team. Result of the team's efforts: on-time delivery went from 83.8% in 2002 to 96.5% in 2004. On the budget side, the team cut costs by $20 million on a $1 billion annual spend.

Accomplishments like that have earned Rockwell Collins the PURCHASING magazine Medal of Professional Excellence.

Of course, there is much more to the story of Rockwell Collins' supply chain management success, and you can read about the details in the pages of this issue. Senior Editor Susan Avery wrote the lead story and coordinated our coverage, which includes reports from every editor on different facets of the company's procurement strategy, including supplier relationships, involvement in product development, innovation, strategic sourcing, procure-to-pay and professional development.

There are several elements of excellence that Rockwell Collins adopted, and they all add up to the building of an organization and strategy that can serve as a role model for industry. We congratulate the company for its efforts.

You can congratulate them too—and, more importantly, quiz them on their practices and exchange ideas. How? Join a special live chat with the Rockwell Collins team Sept. 15 at noon (EST) at www.purchasing.com/chat. Members of the material and supply team will be on hand to answer your questions and provide further insight into the elements of excellence.