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iSixSigma Magazine explores DC Electronics' experience in implementing Lean Six Sigma tools, and makes a case for other businesses to "better position themselves in a competitive marketplace."
Full Story: iSixSigma July/August 2011
We are thrilled to introduce a new 55 ton Absolute Haitian Mold Machine. A crack team from AC Wilson did the installation and set up. This new machine is one of the largest of the 6 injection molding units we now have on the floor. The vertical clamp of this unit is ideal for cable assemblies, so it was the clear choice. This new addition to the plant gives a significant boost to our injection molding capacity.
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.
Happy New Year DCE friends. We really enjoyed Connector Specifier’s Top 10 Wiring Harness Industry News Stories of 2010 from their newsletter and thought we would pass it on….with one addition.
#11. Our industry is transitioning from having vendors/suppliers/etc. to having valued partners. DCE provides a rather ordinary product in an extraordinary way: We help customers create solutions, not just custom cable assemblies.
Valuable news via: Interconnection World.
The latest round of performance testing conducted by the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA) has shown that Cat 6 patch cords from brand-name manufacturers can be trusted to perform as expected, while “no-name” cords from offshore manufacturers, by and large, cannot.
This latest set of tests included 499 samples of Category 6 patch cords — 379 made by offshore manufacturers whose names are not generally known in North America and 120 made by well-known manufacturers. A whopping 322 of the 379 offshore cords failed to meet the performance specifications of TIA-568-C.2. CCCA reports that 78 percent of the failing samples failed by a margin of 3 dB or more, and 45 percent of the failing cords were 6 dB or more worse than the 568-C.2 performance specs.