-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
A Well-Designed Laminate Supply Chain has to Own It!
July 22, 2015 | Mark Goodwin, VentecEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Designing a supply chain for the provision of laminates and pre-pregs to the PCB fabricator shouldn’t be that complicated, should it? The laminate is simply manufactured and then shipped...what could possibly go wrong? It turns out it is more complicated, partly because the supply chain is not fully owned by one supplier, and hence cannot be fully customized to the needs of each customer.
There are a number of things that make that supply chain complex beyond the fact that there are multiple parties involved, from the laminator to the distributor or sales agent to the logistics provider.
Forecasting, as we all know, is not an exact science, especially in Western Europe and North America, where lower volumes, high mix and quick-turn are the demand drivers. The PCB industry is so unpredictable in its demand that most fabricators won’t offer their laminate supplier a forecast at all. This may not be a problem for the regularly used, standard materials that are most likely available locally and at short notice, or are perhaps even part of a consignment stock agreement. But what about those unusual requests, which seem to always be accompanied by a request for fast turnaround? These might not be available in your geography, and that delay in receiving material can be the difference between winning or losing an order, or even retaining or losing a customer.
Increasingly, the supply chain seems to want to shift any commercial risk involved in stocking goods onto the customer who isn’t refusing to forecast because they don’t want to, but simply because they can’t.
So demand is unpredictable, but there’s more to it than that. What about customization of materials, such as unbalanced copper or an unusual build structure? This is out of the question for typical laminate supply chains with third-party distribution, where the local vendor has to share your needs with his supplier or suppliers and find a solution that then has to be produced and shipped. All of that takes time—too much time.
Read the full article here.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2015 issue f The PCB Magazine.
Suggested Items
Trouble in Your Tank: Supporting IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 5
03/19/2024 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankDirect metallization systems based on conductive graphite or carbon dispersion are quickly gaining acceptance worldwide. Indeed, the environmental and productivity gains one can achieve with these processes are outstanding. In today’s highly competitive and litigious environment, direct metallization reduces costs associated with compliance, waste treatment, and legal issues related to chemical exposure. What makes these processes leaders in the direct metallization space?
AT&S Shines with Purest Copper on World Recycling Day
03/18/2024 | AT&SThe Styrian microelectronics specialist AT&S is taking World Recycling Day as an opportunity to review the progress that has been made in recent months at its sites around the world in terms of the efficient use of resources:
Matrix to Exhibit at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA
03/05/2024 | MatrixMatrix will be exhibiting at IPC APEX EXPO 2024, to be held on April 9-12, 2024, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.
The Chemical Connection: Getting to Know Your Vendor
02/16/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionAfter working for a capital equipment supplier for almost 50 years, I’ve found that the most important part of getting to know your vendor is good communication among all parties. While contact between fabricators of a constantly changing product line and the designers of those products may occur daily or weekly, conversations between you and your equipment supplier may be years apart. That lengthy gap often means that previous contacts may have been promoted, retired, or moved on to other opportunities. You may have also migrated to a new supplier with whom you have little or no history. In either case, you will be interacting with someone you are unfamiliar with (as they are with you). Therefore, it is essential for both sides to communicate clearly so expectations will align.
EIPC Winter Conference 2024, Day 2: A Closer Look at Global Trends
02/14/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The opening session of the second day’s conference proceedings focused on global PCB trends and was introduced and moderated by Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president of strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group in Switzerland. He opened the session with Dr. Hayao Nakahara’s knowledgeable and enlightening video presentation on the IC substrates industry.