Regarding "Factory supplies team kicks it up a notch" (PURCHASING, October 6, 2005; p. 33): Once you have assessed and analyzed your spend, narrowed your supply base and run through the never ending plethora of programs with sexy sounding names, but all doing about the same thing, there isn't really anything real left to ring out of the system. We have looked at integrated supply base. You can pay for head count or pay for subcontracting and make an accounting fiction to seem like money is being saved.

Bill Simpson Covington, Ga.

Regarding "Factory supplies team kicks it up a notch"...Very interesting! Very informative! Well-written!

Jason P. Trevison Spartanburg, S. C.

Regarding "Outsourcing delivers reliability, savings," (PURCHASING, September 1, 2005; p. 38), great article! Great idea! Two questions: Were there any headcount reductions as a result of this initiative? Does this third party provider work with cGMP production plants, which must meet FDA validation requirements?

Dan Farmer South Haven, Mich.

(Editor's note: No headcount reductions. Regarding FDA validation, it isn't necessary for Rockwell Collins, which buys commodity chemicals.)

Regarding your monthly survey of business conditions, we have seen marked increases in orders for our custom-designed products, in some cases as much as 25-50% during 2005. That's the good news. The bad news is that rather than a gradual ramp-up to higher volumes, the volumes exploded overnight. This caused considerable stress on the supply chain—imagine a train moving along at 30 mph, then in the blink of an eye moving at 120 mph. Leadtimes were thrown out the window as parts became needed in a "how soon is yesterday?" mode. This at a time when some suppliers were coming back with longer leadtimes and (some) increased pricing. However, with the manner in which we have set up our supplier base—we give them forecast updates on a regular basis as well as long term commitments so they are assured of production in the future—we have been able to respond to these overnight increases and keep our customers supplied with the parts they required when needed.

Frank Marshall