Since my company, Lytica Inc., introduced analytics based price prediction for electronic components, many major EMS and OEM companies have saved millions of dollars by applying this technology to their materials spending. As with the disruptive technologies described by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma, those stuck like deer in the headlights clinging to a […]
Purchasing: Do You Really Understand Pricing? Read More »
I have been absent from the blog scene for the past few months because I have been working in China with an LED light bulb manufacturer. This is an exciting, fast-paced, high growth industry under intense pressure for cost improvement and product innovation. While working with this company, I am getting a refresher on Chinese
Take the Embedded Inefficiencies Test Read More »
I was speaking with my Purchasing Manager last week; Patrick is a very capable and effective purchasing professional who has become addicted to Lytica’s fast track cost reduction methods. We discussed surprising things that we have seen in procurement which we label as crimes because they rob shareholders of value. In no particular order, I’d like
Top 7 ‘Crimes’ Often Committed by Purchasing Read More »
Lytica Inc. tracks current prices paid – not distributor website prices – on about one million electronic components and uses this information to assess our clients’ spending competitiveness and estimate appropriate pricing for their worst price components. In many cases, we assist customers in implementing better pricing in their supply chain. From this vantage point
6 Obstacles to Achieving Cost-Reduction Goals Read More »
As we approach the holiday season, I am writing my final blog of 2013 about humanity; that is humankind rather than kindness, compassion or charity. Humans make mistakes; on average, about 2% of the time. Fortunately, we have found ways to catch these mistakes so that their impact does not make it through to affect
Treat yourself to lower costs for the holidays Read More »
If the supply chain psychiatrist were to run a word association test, the expected answer to associate with the word registered would be screwed! While this may sound harsh, many OEMs are unknowingly caught in a registration system that has long-term consequences for materials cost. Registration is a process, used by manufacturers, which rewards a
Registered & Screwed Read More »
This blog is for my readers in procurement with home blood pressure gauges. Warning: do not act on this blog if you have high blood pressure or have failed your anger management class! Select a day when your blood pressure is normal and you are in particularly good spirits. Do the following three things: Ask
How to Keep Your Procurement Blood Pressure in Check Read More »
Lytica Inc. offers our customers an M&A Synergy Savings report. For us, this is an interesting report because it allows us to observe in detail the purchasing effectiveness of two companies that have operated independently. For our customers on an acquisition path, this is a very important and informative report. Synergy savings are the purchasing
A better Path to Purchasing Cost Reduction Read More »
Last month I made a presentation to the IEEE Consumer Electronics Group in San Jose, CA. I asked this group of engineers a very important question. It was important because of the implications that designer choices have on the supply chain. I started with my left hand holding the top of a slinky and my
Supply Chain Structure Should Not Baffle Electronics Design Engineers Read More »
In putting together the slides for a technical review, I realized that two thirds of the staff at Lytica have technical degrees; mostly electrical engineering but also computer science, mathematics and related fields. While not a total surprise, it is unusual to have this technical depth in a supply chain company and it is also
5 Areas Engineers Impact Procurement Read More »
