Japanese supply chain disruptions may last until the end of this year, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economics and Trade. While many manufactures are scrambling to find alternative suppliers, DC Electronics customers who rely heavily on Japanese parts suppliers are protected, thanks to the heads-up action of DC Director of Materials, Alice Cheung.
“The first thing we did after we heard the news was to run BOMs on all our customers to find out which ones were using Japanese suppliers,” Alice said. She did not rely exclusively on suppliers for information, but went directly to the factories to determine exactly what the supply situation was. She learned very quickly that order lead times were jumping from 12 to 22 weeks.
“The suppliers were saying one thing, but the factories had the real information. You just had to know where to find it,” she said.
Alice immediately contacted those customers who looked like they would be in trouble if they didn’t act fast. She helped strategize a safety stock system. In some cases, DC doubled up on its orders as insurance against short supply or delays, and they are now holding stock in reserve.
“When we need it, it’s there,” says VP of Operations, Ruben Macias, Jr. “If the situation improves and we don’t need it, we can work with customers to draw it down.” The current situation is very fluid. Alice and her team are checking the factory websites and requoting orders on a daily basis. She expects most of the factories to be up to full capacity before the end of the year.
