One of my favorite adventures in supply chain management occurred early in my career, at Touch International.
Touch International was a touch screen manufacturer in Austin, Texas. This was in the mid-2000's, when smart phones were still pretty new and touch screens were becoming widespread. Touch International was a small company in an emerging industry, but they had a key competitive advantage: The only touch screen for inflight seatback entertainment systems that could meet FAA flammability requirements. TI's supply chain for this product depended upon optically clear fritted glass (glass with a clear conductive ceramic coating, electrostatically deposited in a vaccum). When TI landed a 2 year contract to make these screens I contacted the vendors with a forecast, and a request for new pricing based on the annual volume with scheduled releases. Up to that point we had been placing spot orders, and our pricing was based on short runs and small batches. As luck had it, I barely prevented a supply chain catastrophe. The vendor had crated up his machines used to make our glass, and was about to send them over to China to make screens for iPhone!
I not only managed to negotiate substantially better pricing, but I saved the US capacity to make the glass.
The keys: Communication with your vendors. Don't keep them in the dark, give them a forecast if you can to help them plan. Work together, and everyone succeeds.
SVP of Hardware, Zoox
2moWelcome Stephen.