01 May Minimising Supply Chain Complexity

Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Dalgety Bay, Scotland, Dynamic EMS provides leading-edge Electronic Manufacturing (EMS) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) services to a variety of leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the communications, computing, wireless, industrial, medical, and aviation markets.

Published in Electronics Sourcing http://www.electronics-sourcing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ESUK-March17-DE.pdf page 23

To operate in these high-reliability industries, Dynamic EMS is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and operates under IPC 610 (Class I, II, and III) manufacturing standards.

Dynamic EMS’s goal is to provide total customer satisfaction through the timely delivery of quality products and services, with a highly competitive cost structure. The company operates under a Total Quality Management System (TQM) and encourages the continuous improvement of performance across all areas of the company. Dynamic EMS’s service offerings include; printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), design for manufacturability (DFM), design for test (DFT), final assembly/box build, consigned and turnkey project management, quick-turn prototype and new product introduction (NPI) services, materials management and an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP).

“Supply chains are currently under the spotlight”, Mr. John Dignan, Managing Director, Dynamic EMS comments; “if we review the past ten years, our industry has faced several disruptions and disasters that have had a momentous effect on the way our customers want their supply chain to operate, whether that be an ash cloud, defective software, the need for customisation or bankruptcy, customers are more aware of how fragile their supply chain can be.”

So, what does this mean for the way EMS companies operate? Minimising supply chain complexity is one of the best ways to create a more efficient, more agile organisation, that can respond rapidly to existing and emerging consumer demands.   A natural starting point for reducing complexity is to identify the operational and organisational improvements most likely to affect business results. Dynamic EMS took this step in their efforts to improve fulfilment, without raising inventory costs. To do this, Dynamic EMS leveraged Lean Six Sigma and advanced analytics, to more effectively link process improvements, business performance, and organisational priorities.

“Dynamic EMS invested in smart resources and intelligent systems” Mr. Dignan states.  “We introduced improved classifications that account for complete trackability and traceability up and down the supply chain.  We’ve also witnessed a shift in manufacturing coming back to Britain, as OEMs and EMS companies partner to simply their supply chain operations, reduce their number of touchpoints and reduce risk.”

“The operational functions that we’ve placed a significant investment into are; component sourcing, materials management, and inventory control.  Procurement, materials sourcing and inventory management are crucial to the success of meeting our customer’s delivery dates in a systematic and cost-effective way.  From our Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) programme to our vertically integrated (VI) supply chain solution, Dynamic EMS helps customers source a total solution for their finished product.

Component Sourcing

Sourcing is evolving from a tactical to a strategic business process. The growing contribution of software inside electronics and the need to handle mass customisation has raised the bar for test and inspection.

Dynamic EMS complies with industry standard best practices for quality control, to manage the risk and reap the benefit of a global production network.  The company operates both offshore and near-shore sourcing strategies to complement their local procurement, which results in their customers often having a hybrid solution, achieving cost benefits through economies of scale.

Finely-tuned materials planning also helps to optimise freight costs. This helps the company to stay competitive, as those overnight and expedited deliveries that prove to be are expensive and are reduced. When trusted quality suppliers know what is needed and when they can account for lead times and the necessary transit times for the lowest cost shipping option.  Putting Dynamic EMS’s customers total landed cost into a price comparative landscape.

Materials Management

Materials management plays a huge role in the organisation and operational efficiency of a supply chain.   Waste is what threatens the productivity of any manufacturer and raises the cost of manufacturing any type of product. Materials management contributes to overall customer satisfaction and the total success of the company. In many ways, it acts as the backbone of the manufacturing process.

Dynamic EMS strives to eliminate waste, reduce material cost, whilst at the same time, manage the bill of materials (BOM) to be able to shorten lead-times, whilst responding to fluctuations in customer demand, or market forces.

Their inventory management programme also optimises stock holding levels to minimise the liability of excess inventory, utilising, wherever possible, Dynamic EMS’s Supply Chain Partners capabilities, to provide the best solution for all parties.

Dynamic EMS works with their customers and Supply Chain Partners from design, throughout the entire production lifecycle, to suggest, investigate and help implement cost reduction programmes, as well as protect against impending obsolescence or availability issues.

Inventory Control

Dynamic EMS’s materials management procedure starts with good inventory management, resources, tools, practices and accurate tracking of all the materials within the company’s inventory.  The company utilises the principles of Just in Time (JIT), the main component of Lean production.  JIT inventory management is a strategy in which the materials and parts needed for production are delivered “Just in Time”, before they are used within the OEM’s build. The cost savings realised by JIT are significant for Dynamic EMS.

Ensuring that the materials going into production are correct and of high quality, is a major part of Dynamic EMS’s materials management.  This helps to keep production running smoothly, improves the overall quality of finished goods and helps the company delight their customers, time and time again.

Make it. Local.

Increasingly, businesses have been keen to join the ‘Best of British’ movement to manufacturer their goods in the UK.  There is a real ‘start-up’ scene.  The accessibility of capital through crowd funding has moved power, as has ground-breaking and enabling technology like 3D printing.  Local sourcing is on the rise, not for high volume manufacturing, but for some low volume, high mix production.  Making in the region eases the business process, with real commercial value in the proximity of the manufacturer to the end-user.  Removing the complexity and the associated risks, allows a company like Dynamic EMS to reap the rewards that speed-to-market and time-in-market provide to them and their customer.