The high-tech supply chain of today requires decision makers at all levels to assemble an impressive array of data, understand the interactions between different functional silos and then make a judgment. Given the degree of outsourcing, assembling the data requires cooperation across multiple enterprises. However, a decision, once made, also requires complex coordination across multiple enterprises – the Contract Manufacturers, the tier 2 suppliers, the logistics partners not to mention the customer. The specific dynamics of the market also dictate that this complex juggling act be repeated day in and day out.

Several factors, some unique to the high-tech business, drive the complex mechanics of decision making. The first is the differential between the customer order lead time and the supply lead time. In many sub-segments, the customer order lead time (the difference between the book date and requested delivery date) is far smaller than the supply lead time (the difference between the time a firm order or build signal is sent and delivery at the ship-to location). Read More

About the Author

Anand Iyer has worked in supply chain management for over 20 years. He has published award-winning research in peer-reviewed academic journals as well as widely-quoted articles in practitioner-oriented magazines. Anand's experience in SCM has been accumulated through his work with leading companies in High-tech, Semiconductor, Pharmaceuticals, Downstream Oil and Specialty Chemicals across a broad range of SCM functions. He earned a Ph. D in Systems & Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona.