Logistics nightmares
Brad Thompson, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2005
 |
Instruments aside, I usually think about logistics only when I shop for groceries. That changed when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, destroying parts of New Orleans and severely impacting gas and oil production from the Gulf. In the storm's wake, gas prices surged upward and spot shortages appeared. Logistics SNAFUs impacted evacuation of survivors and delivery of desperately needed aid. Survivors found it difficult or impossible to obtain cash or gain access to financial records and bank accounts. One federal relief agency offered to mail survivors' relief checks to homes that no longer exist—a logistics challenge in its own right!
Our globalized electronics industry relies heavily on just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing. Reliance on offshore labor and component sources have lengthened the supply chain and emphasized sole sources. While a small fire in a supplier's factory can significantly affect a single product, a major earthquake in Taiwan could cripple production of many components, creating a cascade of shutdowns and layoffs in businesses that depend on uninterrupted JIT deliveries.
Potential logistics problems extend beyond parts and petroleum. Many companies have moved data processing and technical support services to politically and socially unstable areas offering low-cost labor. In recent years, India, Pakistan, and China have narrowly avoided war, but a major conflict between India and Pakistan would cripple both nations. With overseas contractors' operations shut down or destroyed, domestic manufacturers and financial institutions couldn't offer support and services. Redundant stateside backup facilities cost money to maintain and would thus eliminate globalization's financial benefits.
I'm getting an uneasy feeling that our electronics-intensive civilization is tap dancing its way toward disaster along an increasingly narrow and brittle supply chain. Will someone please tell me otherwise?
E-mail your comments to Brad Thompson.
|
To learn more about an inexpensive RF spectrum analyzer, go to: www.atten.com.cn The basic instrument carries a nominal price tag of $500, which averages out to $1 per MHz, a modest price indeed for a spectrum analyzer. It isn't manufactured here in the US—it's a product of Atten Electronics Co., Shenzhen, People's Republic of China. The usual disclaimers apply: I haven't reviewed or otherwise evaluated this instrument and have no interest, financial or otherwise, in the manufacturer or the product. To learn more about globalization's effects and where the world's economy may be headed, read: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas L. Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. ISBN 0-374-29288-4. For an exploration of globalization and its potential logistics perils, consider reading: End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation, by Barry C. Lynn, Doubleday division of Random House, 2005. ISBN 0-385-51024-1. This interesting blog site offers an assortment of opinions and insights into globalization and its effects: www.enterblog.com/index.html. For a brief article summarizing issues posed by globalization's increasing stress on logistics processes, go to: www.purchasing.com/article/CA624893 For a more extensive analysis of globalization's effects on world economies, and a discussion of why Friedman's "flat world" theory may not exactly reflect reality, read: "The World Is Spiky: Globalization has changed the economic playing field, but hasn't leveled it", by Richard Florida, Atlantic Monthly, October 2005, pp. 48–51. |
