Securing your supply chain

In the defence/aerospace/security sectors, the public perception of the big contractors is not good – over budget and over time – ultimately (and arguably) resulting in the loss of strategic resources like the Portsmouth and Clyde shipbuilding jobs. But while such things make good headlines, they are headlines that don't do justice to many working in those sectors. In many cases contractors are not only efficiently fulfilling their link in the supply chain, they are also talking on a leading role in managing it. Passing supply chain management to a third party makes some designers nervous. Along with procurement colleagues, who may have issues regarding cost controls, engineers want to make sure their products are being made properly. Axis Electronics, whose business is principally in the defence and aerospace sectors, does not offer a standard build to print service. The upfront work with the design engineer forms the basis for the relationship between contractor and customer. Materials director Paul Chaplin explained: "We can build a robust supply chain for the parts they have designed and, in some cases, we have to tell the customer what the recommended supply chain is, all the way down to the exact names of who we would use to procure that part or manufacture that piece of metal work or printed circuit board. "That takes risk out of the supply chain and it also allows us to audit the effectiveness of that supply chain and assess if the supply chain we have selected is in line with the customers quality requirements. And certainly in the sectors we are in, who we use can be crucial if we can demonstrate the authenticity of a part or process. There is no point in making something for a customer if some of the parts are from an unreliable source." Like many other contractors, Axis gets its component supply information from the Silicon Experts database – a virtually instant source of details about availability, lead times, legislative compliance (for example, RoHS and REACH), predicted end of life, where parts originate from – the issue of conflict minerals raises its head in the defence sector – and similar information that may not be easily uncovered on individual suppliers web sites. If design engineer and contractor are working together during the design process, such component information can be a valuable tool. The relationship between customer and contractor is one of the cornerstones of SC21 – Supply Chains for the 21st Century – a scheme lead by the large prime contractors to make the supply chain in the military, security and aerospace sectors more efficient. SC21 requires a demonstration of continuous improvement on all sides and this requires collaboration if it is to succeed. Chaplin continued: "We have a considerable amount of engineers who are best in class when it comes to advising customers how to make their products in the most reliable way and how remove as much cost as possible – design for manufacture reports and build reports that might help a design team in board layout, component selection, how to test the product and so on. It could mean having the designer on site with us reviewing the build, reviewing the processes and seeing if there is anything we could do to improve it. When a board is performance tested, it could result in changes to the bill of materials so, in some cases, we could go through many iterations before the design is agreed." Providing a framework Although SC21 was originally intended for certain sectors, the processes it requires are equally applicable in other industries. "SC21 has changed the relationship we have with many of our customers," commented Chaplin "Flow down expectations are incredibly tight, ever tightening deadlines, cost expectations, cost down, adopters of lean manufacturing – SC21 gives us a framework by which an external auditor can judge us and say that we are of a certain standard. We therefore attract customers who expect that level of quality and commitment from a sub contractor like us. The certification applies if you are part of that supply chain, but we have customers who are outside of that supply chain who benefit from using us because we have SC21 principles engrained in our culture." The rigours of the SC21 accreditation process and the resultant confidence it brings, has enabled design teams, along with their colleagues in procurement and operations, to view the supply chain as a single entity that can be trusted in the hands of an EMS. Chaplin concluded: "If we are building the customer's boards, we want to make sure the products are fit for manufacture, presented in a way to manufacturing so they can use them, and use genuine parts – we have all the traceability and evidence to prove they are genuine. We [EMS providers] are the only people that can do that."