Win Source discusses the resilient supply chain and its implementation

The goal of a semiconductor supply chain running in seamless, uninhibited perpetuity is a distant dream given the disruptions experienced by the electrical and industrial manufacturing and operational industries in recent years. Yet despite its elusive nature, the concept of an uninterrupted and resilient supply chain must be pursued.

Individually, enterprises can look within to strengthen their position through both data analytics and operational flexibility but the unexpected happens and by its very nature is difficult to mitigate against. Unforseen disruption arguably causes the greatest obstacles in supply chain fluidity.

Recent examples are plentiful. From the plating line fire at the Welnew plant in Wuxi, China that interrupted supply; earthquakes in Japan suspending factory operations; to heatwaves in China causing power outages that have forced a relocation of operations from the country. The most memorable natural disaster of recent times, of course, was the Covid-19 pandemic.

Factory shutdowns and other disruptions are not limited to Acts of God, however, and the changing political landscape has an equally unpredictable effect. Changes in laws and regulations, prevalent in the current climate of environmental protection, will impact the water- and energy-intensive production of electronic goods and semiconductors. Only recently, the European Union added a further nine non-compliant chemicals to the REACH regulation. Challenging though these changes are to the industry, compliance is imperative.

The global supply chain, and the enterprises therein, must fortify with resilience and flexibility. To be resilient requires a shift from reactive to proactive, with each link in the chain, through flexible contingency planning and forecasting, positioned to quickly respond to operational interruptions.

The semiconductor supply chain, however, is complex and diverse, with numerous suppliers, sub-suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. Identifying and resolving problems as they occur is inconceivable. Yet in its complexity, lies its strength, not its Achilles heel.

Mobilising the flexibility offered by a complex supply chain affords better management and optimisation of the enterprises within it. Improvements to transparency, response speed and efficiency, will reduce inventory cost, improve production efficiency and resource utilization rate, and lay the foundations for quick response to market demand, and an increase in sales and market competitiveness.

For its own resilience, Win Source has focussed on its strategy of further strengthening business continuity, actively deepening its upstream and downstream cooperation with the industry. In this manner the company strives to continuously reduce the supply chain cost to customers, committing wholly to the field of component distribution with stable quality and cost control.

Through its one-stop online platform for customers, the company integrates global supply chain data via its BOM tool, to solve procurement needs. As customers upload their demand list through the tool, so Win Source can search its global supply chain to not only realise one-stop BOM procurement, but also make comparisons during the search process, to ensure customers find products that are competitively priced and of good quality.

In fact, the internal supply chain operation system including sales, procurement, warehousing logistics, marketing and other subsystems that support the global supply chain, are fully digitised to create full transparency at every stage, making all levels of the supply chain process visible and streamlining business processes.

Customers can be assured that an ongoing commitment to standards such as ISO 22301 and ISO28000, Win Source is fully conversant in the ways to ensure the continuity and safety of the supply chain in the face of global disasters, because WIN SOURCE always insists on providing customers with the highest standard of products and services.