Published Mon 12th Feb 2024
Delve into the Inner Workings of Supply Chain Management at Senceive
We sat down with Senceive's Supply Chain Manager, Laurence King, for an insightful Q&A session, to uncover the intricacies of his vital function within our company.
Discover Laurence's first-hand insights, as he shares his expertise, challenges and strategies that drive our supply chain operations.
Hi Laurence, please introduce yourself.
Laurence King. I have been Supply Chain Manager at Senceive for 2.5 Years, having over 30 year experience leading Supply Chains within Global manufacturing companies in Commercial and Defence industrial fields. My expertise is in understanding the current market conditions and how they will impact my Supply Chain both short and longer term.
Elaborate on the key role the supply chain function plays within Senceive.
As a Supply Chain function, it is imperative to understand the network of all individuals, organisations, resource activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product. The Senceive supply chain encompasses everything from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the manufacturer through to its eventual delivery to our customer. As a department we are constantly seeking to reduce stock levels whilst maintaining short lead times to our end users. We can only achieve this with the collaboration and partnerships with “key” suppliers. They must understand Senceive as much as we understand and measure their efficiency.
What is the current landscape of globally sourced components and what are some of the challenges faced?
Lead times for components have generally recently eased after a period of high demand across many different industries. Geopolitical tensions and unforeseen events have caused delays in production of components in general commencing in early 2020. The pandemic disrupted the global supply chain , while the trade war led to tariffs on Chinese goods, including semiconductors . Prices for semiconductors have skyrocketed, thus increasing prices for a wide range of consumer electronics, from laptops to smartphones. The still ongoing war in Ukraine and the recession in some countries are exacerbating the situation by disrupting the supply of raw materials.
What is Senceive’s Supplier Management Process and how does it enable us to select, monitor and collaborate with only the best suppliers?
Senceive effective supplier selection method ensures continuous supply relationships with suppliers, we measure and audit their performance. We pre-qualify them and work closely with our Quality team to fully understand and implement best practice. Suppliers are evaluated on more than one criteria (such as price, quality and delivery performance). We identify the changing supply conditions of the selected suppliers over a period of time before taking necessary actions. All suppliers are selected to maximise our revenue and quality to the end user.
What is the importance of building strong relationships with local suppliers?
We always aim to build long term healthy relationships between the supplier and Senceive. This allows for the improvement of operations, streamlining the supply chain and reducing costs in addition to improving customer service. Local sourcing is encouraged to improve more reliable deliveries and have no import duties and logistic costs. Localising our supply chain where possible represents a tremendous opportunity to help the environment, when we reduce shipping and storage, we also reduce emissions and energy usage. Senceive aims to be fast to market with new innovative products and using local suppliers allows us to resolve problems faster, thus meeting customer demands and spikes.
