Navigating Disruptions and Enhancing Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the complexity and fragility of our global supply network, highlighting the importance of resilient semiconductor supply chains and the need for strategic inventory management systems. Effective inventory management is critical to maintain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced business environment.
When evaluating an inventory management partner for your business, it’s important to look at its service models. One that offers a mix of procurement consulting and a more comprehensive, customizable Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) model – which leverages AI to anticipate and navigate around disruptions – provides the flexibility to grow with your business. Implementing a modern, AI-optimized inventory-management solution will allow you to identify potential disruptions, rapidly optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions to achieve uninterrupted revenue operations.
Cutting Costs and Reducing Lead Times
In a traditional supply operation, receiving the wrong shipment or quantity can disrupt your workflow because human intervention and decision-making are required to resolve the error. AI introduces a transformative solution by training the model to independently analyze incoming shipments, instantaneously assess the situation, and efficiently detect workflow backlogs. The model then adds this to its knowledge base to forecast actual demand, tighten inventory, and flag orders at risk. This decreases exception processing time, which, in turn, saves you money in inventory overhead and uptime. With an optimized inventory, your organization can maintain focus on your core competencies and strategic goals.
AI revolutionizes the supply chain by streamlining labor-intensive processes, converting them into effortless tasks. This efficiency shift lets you redirect your focus towards more impactful interactions.
Historically, your vendor quote process was likely managed by an individual buyer, requiring 3-5 emails per part per quote. However, with properly trained AI and a well-built data model, the vendor quote process can be transitioned from a manual, time-intensive process to a touchless bid-ask marketplace that consolidates quotes by price and quoted lead time all in seconds.
Over the course of a single year at DSV IMS, our purchasing team quotes over 2,000 parts, which previously took over 7 full 24 days of effort. Now, the automated process still runs 24 x 7, but the user input demand has been decreased to less than 17 hours per year; a savings of nearly four (4) full 40-hour work weeks.
Not If, but When?
Invariably, unforeseen hurdles are bound to arise— labor strikes, port blockades, facility fires, or any unexpected challenges. To safeguard against interruptions in inventory flow or delivery, it’s vital to devise contingency plans that enable seamless adaptation and circumvention of these unforeseen events. Vigilant monitoring and strategic preparedness are indispensable components of this approach, ensuring that the impact of unplanned circumstances is mitigated effectively.
The semiconductor and microelectronics industries are still recovering from the supply-chain issues that plagued the global economy over the past few years. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic have shed light on the significance of resilient and agile supply chains and the adoption of strategic inventory management strategies. Adapting to dynamic market conditions is crucial for businesses to thrive. Hence, the disciplined approach to maintaining safety stock cannot be overstated.
As a trusted partner, DSV IMS can manage all aspects of your semiconductor supply chains, offering advanced analytics and reporting capabilities that allow you to gain valuable insights into your inventory performance, supplier performance, and overall supply-chain efficiency. These insights empower you to identify potential disruptions, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions to improve your bottom line. DSV IMS ensures flawless execution, eliminating revenue disruptions, improving net working capital, and amplifying your strategic supply chain focus.
