Purchasing articles from May 2006

Purchasing archives from May 2006

How the best source MRO.
May 4, 2006... By Anne Millen Porter Most manufacturing companies have gained strong control over direct materials, but only recently have they begun to focus seriously on fragmented MRO/indirect spend categories. Purchasing's 2006 MRO/Indirect Strategic...

Demand remains strong despite high prices.(Higher prices help drive sales for the nation's chemical distributors)
May 4, 2006... By Susan Avery Higher prices help drive sales for the nation's chemical distributors. Outstanding is a good word to use to describe the kind of year Purchasing's top 100 chemical distributors had in 2005. Costs for such feedstocks...

Record energy prices drive increased interest in ethanol.
May 4, 2006... Wayne Forrest Paying higher prices for a commodity is arguably the greatest motivating factor to seeking alternative sources. Gasoline prices topping $2/gallon in recent years--not to mention $3 last fall--is one prime reason why ethanol...

Auto industry drives green demand.
May 4, 2006... David Hannon In its quest to build lighter, more environmentally friendly vehicles, the U.S. automotive market is pushing demand for adhesives both in volumes and in technology. A report from market researcher Freedonia Group, demand...

Change management in real time.(Interview)
May 4, 2006... By Paul Teague Brad Holcomb recently became senior vice president of global materials and supply at Toronto-based Royal Group Technologies, North America's largest producer of advanced polymer building materials. He is in the midst of a...

Buyers worry most about metals, freight and paper.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Staff (Buyers' 90-day price expectations) [TABLE OMITTED] INFLATION HAS SLOWED Staff U.S. wholesale prices grew in March at their fastest pace in three months (0.5%). But, for the so-called core index...

Economy + Supply.(General Motors shifting business away from its top supplier)
May 4, 2006... Staff GM PILES UP DELPHI PARTS Staff General Motors' top purchasing executive confirmed the company is shifting business away from its top supplier, Delphi, as the supplier moves through its bankruptcy. GM's Bo Andersson, vice...

It all comes down to price.
May 4, 2006... By Susan Avery How buyers react to price pressure colors their view of supplier performance. How purchasers rate distributor performance for 2005 depends largely on how they handled pricing pressure last year. Buyers who typically...

Leadtime Report.
May 4, 2006... Staff Pump deliveries are extending Staff Deliveries of pumps are expanding this year as huge capital investments are made in factories and manufacturing equipment. Buyers across the Midwest have been complaining about slow...

Buyers work to get their arms around small parcel spend.
May 4, 2006... David Hannon When you get right down to it, there are really two main things that small parcel shippers and buyers want: the right level of service and the right price. But before buyers can go out and find the supplier that can provide...

Olympus Medical scopes out the right carrier for its unique needs.(Olympus Medical Services North America)
May 4, 2006... Staff While a lot of small parcel service contracting is based on price, some businesses have unique requirements of their carriers that might limit their choices. Olympus Medical Services North America is just such a shipper. This...

Buyers spend 15% more with top 100 in 2005.
May 4, 2006... By Tom Stundza The 14 biggest processing and distribution firms now control 26% of the $115 billion metals supply network. Buyers spent a record $47 billion with the top 100 metals service centers in North America in 2005, a 15%...

Just because buyers rely on service centers doesn't mean they like it.
May 4, 2006... By Tom Stundza If producing mills at home and offshore did a better job of meeting promised delivery dates, they'd probably pick up business for nonprocessed metals. Buyers of production-grade metals have increased purchases from...

Mills want to boost tags but buyers remain skeptical.
May 4, 2006... Tom Stundza North American sheet steel prices have risen gradually by slightly more than $100/ton over the past 10 months, according to numerous buyers responding to Purchasing's monthly surveys. Several domestic steelmakers say that's...

Metal Chips.(Reliance Steel & Aluminum acquired Earle M. Jorgensen Co.)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Staff Reliance Steel & Aluminum of Los Angeles, the second-largest service center chain in North America, has completed its acquisition of Earle M. Jorgensen Co. of nearby Lynwood, Calif., the seventh-largest metals distribution company....

Analysts see high LME prices this year.(London Metal Exchange)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Staff The 2005 average cash aluminum price for primary ingot on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was 86¢/lb. The analysts continue to debate supply, demand and surplus versus deficit trends to determine their average annual price...

Partners plan new type of mini-mill.(Kobe Steel of Japan has developed method of producing high-grade steel from low-cost materials )(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Staff Kobe Steel of Japan has developed, with two U.S. partners, a method of producing high-grade steel from low-cost materials at a low cost. Kobe Steel has built an experimental plant in Minnesota with its partners, electric-furnace...

Analysts: Price run could hit historic highs.
May 4, 2006... Staff The "hyper-bullish" GFMS survey of the world gold market isn't hard to understand; with gold prices already up 13% to an average $558/ounce in the first 14 weeks of this year, it's tough to be bearish. According to Philip...

Skyrocketing prices make metals too attractive.
May 4, 2006... Staff As prices of nonferrous metals soar to record highs this year, police nationwide are reporting a rise in the theft of copper, aluminum, zinc and other nonsteel metals. In just one week in April, thieves made off with $4,000 worth of...

Fastenal helps customers get up and running after hurricanes.
May 4, 2006... Susan Avery With fewer than 30 days until the start of this year's hurricane season, industrial distributors such as the Fastenal Co. are stocking shelves of their stores along the Atlantic coast and making other preparations in...

Help <EMPHASIS TYPE="ITALIC">Purchasing</EMPHASIS> select its team of MRO buying champions for 2006.
May 4, 2006... Staff Purchasing is looking for MRO buyers who demonstrate excellence in their daily responsibilities to honor with a spot on the magazine's team of MRO champions. These MRO buyer champions see challenges as opportunity for success:...

Brothers' careers show purchasing's evolution.(Kurt Doelling)(Peter Doelling)
May 4, 2006... Paul Teague, Editor in chief Meet the Doelling brothers, Kurt and Peter. Both studied economics, both have sales, marketing and purchasing experience and both are enjoying successful careers. Interestingly, their professional lives have...

Annual purchases to require 14 billion lbs of resins by 2010.
May 4, 2006... Staff U.S. demand for plastic containers is expected to grow 4.6% annually through 2010 to over $24 billion, creating a demand for 14.2 billion lbs of polyethylene-based polymers and other resins. Gains will be supported by plastic's...

Accurate forecasts are essential.(Stratex Networks)
May 4, 2006... Paul E. Teague You've heard of business-to-business companies and business-to-consumer companies. This is a story about a business-to-country company. Stratex Networks develops, products to enable development of complex communications...

Help your suppliers help you.
May 4, 2006... By David Hannon Whether in Baltimore or Beijing, even the best suppliers can have problems. Read how three leading-edge companies help them find solutions. There are two megatrends taking place dramatically impacting the way a typical...

How to speak like a CFO.
May 4, 2006... By Paul E. Teague Too often, finance executives in corporate America simply don't believe that purchasing departments are really bringing in the savings they claim. That may be because finance and purchasing don't speak the same language....

Midmarket company paves the way to strategic sourcing.
May 4, 2006... William Atkinson For the majority of procurement executives who work in small to medium-sized companies, the concept of strategic procurement may sound like something of value only to large corporations that can devote massive of resources...

Hospitals find Rx for supply chain pain.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... David Hannon Looking for the next industry to benchmark your supply chain against? Well it might just be your local hospital. According to hospital materials management specialist Benchmarking Excellence, hospitals are seeking new ways...

Purchasing execs on the move...(MGM Mirage appoints Teresa Reynolds as chief procurement officer)(Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America gives awards)(Chris Mapes is the new vice president, purchasing for CVG Americas)
May 4, 2006... Staff The Commercial Vehicle Group announced today that Chris Mapes has been named the new vice president of purchasing for CVG Americas. In this role Mapes will direct and lead the CVG Americas global procurement team as they manage the...

How to build a career scorecard.
May 4, 2006... William Atkinson According to mark thompson, typical procurement professionals are very good at creating strategic sourcing and negotiation plans, but they rarely spend any time thinking about or creating their own career plans. "We...

High prices, tight supply continue.(Kenneth D. Simonson)(Associated General Contractors of America)(Interview)
May 4, 2006... Staff Construction spending is expanding for manufacturing plants, commercial properties, warehouses offices and hotels. Costs have increased by 6% for construction materials and components in the past year. For the remainder of 2006,...

Clarity comes to the pricing picture.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... Staff Great work Regarding "Citizens banking seizes spend" (Purchasing , March 2, 2006; p. 43): Mr. Lillevik and his team have done some great work with implementing this system into their business and I would be very interested in...

NAND flash prices drop.(Not And (electronic logic gate) )
May 18, 2006... James Carbone Movements to watch NAND flash memory will remain a buyer's market for the rest of the year as more capacity comes online to meet rising demand. Prices for NAND flash fell by 30-40% in the first quarter depending on...

Business Intelligence.(www.purchasingdata.com)(Website overview)
May 18, 2006... Staff 44% Electronics buyers who say business is improving Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Business is slowing down in the second quarter. In February, 54% of buyers said business was getting better. 48%...

Expect non-RoHS resistor tags to rise.(Restriction of Hazardous Substances )
May 18, 2006... Gina Roos Buyers can expect tight supply and higher prices for lead-terminated resistors because most resistor manufacturers have transitioned to lead-free production to meet the requirements of the European Union's Restriction of...

Chip equipment market to exceed forecast.(Worldwide semiconductor equipment market)(Industry overview)
May 18, 2006... Staff Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment market will grow 14.3% to $38.8 billion in 2006, according to market researcher Gartner. Analysts raised their forecast from their earlier projection in December of 8.6% growth in 2006. ...

Final result: Chip sales grew 5.7%.(industry sales)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $235 billion in 2005, a 5.7% increase from 2004, according to final results by Gartner. Last year's chip revenue surpassed the semiconductor industry's previous record of $223 billion set in...

Power transistors rebound.(marketing, sales and earnings)
May 18, 2006... Staff The power transistor market will grow 3% to $7.9 billion this year after declining about 4.6% in 2005 because of price erosion and a slowdown in unit growth. Price erosion will ease and unit demand will pick up as power...

Consumer electronics slows down.(annual growth rate for the industry)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff After three consecutive years of double-digit percentage growth, consumer-electronics equipment factory revenue will rise just 6.7% to $311.6 billion in 2006. The rate of growth will continue to slow through 2010 when the consumer...

Distributors get small margins in China.(sales and earnigns of Avnet Inc.,)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Small profit margins in China's electronics distribution business are growing, but distributors there are only generating 3-5% gross profit margins for their fulfillment business, according to market researcher iSuppli. One...

To save more, distribute more cards, study says.(distribution and use of purchasing cards which generates cost savings in North America)
May 18, 2006... Staff Purchasing card use generates more than $28 billion in cost savings in North America each year. Use of the cards also helps companies reduce manpower needed to conduct some purchasing and accounts payable activities. It cuts...

Savings require close review.(survey on savings from outsourcing contracts after calculating professional fees, severance pay and governance costs)
May 18, 2006... Staff The next time you're in a meeting discussing forecasted savings on an outsourcing project, ask this question: "Is that figure before or after professional fees, severance pay and governance costs?" It could change the whole...

Industry in Infancy.(IBM buys a lot of production materials in China)
May 18, 2006... By James Carbone Buying semiconductors in China is no bed of roses as the semiconductor supply base is still limited. Global suppliers are leery of opening fabs in China. Like many global electronics companies, IBM buys a lot of...

Watch out for bogus RoHS parts.(Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
May 18, 2006... By James Carbone RoHS is creating confusion in the electronics marketplace, making it ripe for counterfeiters. The threat of counterfeit parts is not a new problem for electronics buyers, but it could take on a new wrinkle as the...

DOs and DON'Ts of doing business in China.
May 18, 2006... By David Hannon Global sourcing deals can be lost by the simplest of mistakes. Don't let it happen to you! Successfully negotiating new supply markets is the top priority for many procurement organizations today. Some of the most...

Prices.(Table)
May 18, 2006... Staff Inflation expected mostly for flash memory (Buyers' 90-day price expectations) ------------------------------------------------------- Flash: 8 Mb 67% 0% 33% 83.3 SRAM: 4 Mb ...

Inflation concerns fed.(united sates. economic activity)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff High energy prices remain a risk to both inflation and U.S. economic activity, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. He told a congressional committee that "inflation remains a risk" because the economy is running out...

EMS prices may dip.(electronics manufacturing services second-quarter sales )(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Fees for electronics manufacturing services (EMS) are poised to decline. "Industry metrics are not exactly stellar," writes Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Fox. For example, North American EMS sales in the first quarter were down 6%...

MLCCS are rising.(multilayer ceramic capacitors sales)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Prices for high-capacitance multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are likely to be hiked again in the second quarter, after prices increased early in the first quarter. That's the word from Peter Chu, president of Walsin Technology,...

Leaded resistors rising.(Prices for lead-terminated resistors )(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Prices for lead-terminated resistors have increased by about 10% and may increase another 1-2%. Reason: Resistor manufacturers are transitioning product to lead-free production to meet the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous...

On boss sees flat prices.(sales and earnings)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff On Semiconductor CEO Keith Jackson says "average selling prices of power semiconductor devices for the second quarter of 2006 will be flat to slightly up sequentially." Average selling prices in the first quarter dropped 1% from the...

DRAM prices will slip.(dynamic random access memory prices)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Citigroup analysts have strengthened DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip sales forecasts this year to $29.1 billion. "All in all, a tight demand-supply situation should lead to better pricing" for buyers, says Citigroup,...

Components will drop.(handset components prices)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff United Microelectronics, a supplier to Texas Instruments, predicts a 2% increase in prices of handset components in the second quarter. The company expects to use about 80% of its factory capacity in the April-June period. UM's...

NAND heads south.(NAND flash memory prices )(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff NAND flash memory prices on the spot market continue to fall, although some suppliers suggest second-quarter drops in the price of NAND won't be as steep as in the first quarter. While demand for these chips is strong, capacity...

Disk drives are sliding.(hard disk drives prices)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Asian production of hard disk drives in March increased 16% from a year ago to 35.2 million units, reports Merrill Lynch analysts Hiroshi Yoshihara and Masashi Kubota in Tokyo. They say prices are declining because supply/demand...

DDR2 drives Infineon.(double data rate, second generation)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Infineon Technologies said first quarter revenues of memory products improved significantly due to strong growth in bit-shipments of DDR2 DRAM memories, which triggered a slight increase in average selling prices. DRAM makers are...

Gold at 25-year high.(New York Mercantile Exchange)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Gold futures closed April at 25-year highs due to investor worries about record oil prices, a declining dollar and international quarrels over Iran's nuclear program. Gold is used in numerous electronic parts. The metal for June...

GDP rebound is brisk.(U.S. gross domestic product)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Gross domestic product increased at a 4.8% annualized rate in the quarter, according to the Commerce Department. Growth rebounded sharply from the soft fourth quarter; this was unchanged at a 1.7% annualized gain. Major contributors...

Phone-parts eyed.(Matsushita, NEC and Texas Instruments will form a joint venture)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Electronics giants Matsushita Electric Industrial, NEC and Texas Instruments will form a joint venture to make key components and software for third-generation mobile telephones. The proposed venture is an attempt to control costs by...

Solar panels tight.(solar panel shortage prevents sales increase)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff The solar-energy industry usually gets a bump when there's a spike in oil prices. Not this year because of shortages of the solar panels that provide homes and businesses with electricity, says the Solar Energy Industries...

IBM has new mainframe.(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff IBM has developed a low-price mainframe computer that it intends to market to small and midsize businesses and emerging markets. The Z9 Business Class mainframe computer will sell at a starting price of $100,000. Big capacity...

Calling all Opteron buyers.(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Advanced Micro Devices is trying to track down and replace as many as 3,000 Opteron processors that could produce "inconsistent results" under an unusual, high-temperature circumstance. The potential problem affects a number of...

Modest employment costs.(benefits of civilian workers)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff The employment cost index for civilian workers was 0.6% in the first quarter. The gain contradicts other evidence of accelerating wage pressures in the January-March period.

Durables jump.(Commerce Department says the first quarter economy)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff A 6.1% jump in orders for durable goods signal that the economy, which had built up momentum in the first two months of the year, picked up even more speed in March. Commerce Department says the first quarter economy shrugged off the...

New home sales off.(sales and prices )(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff New home sales rose to an annual pace of 1.21 million units in March, up from 1.07 million the month before and 1.2 million in January. But compared with last year, the housing market has already weakened noticeably--sales were...

Energy is the big cost.(summary of economic conditions)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff U.S. economic activity continued to expand across the country in March and the first half of April, but higher energy prices put pressure on costs, says a Federal Reserve's "beige book" summary of economic conditions. "High energy...

Consumers confident.(Conference Board survey)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff As of press time, gasoline prices appear to be taking a major toll on consumers' attitudes according to a Conference Board survey. The business research group says its April measure of consumer confidence rose to the highest level in...

Investment is steady.(information technology companies)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Market analyst Datamonitor finds 285 world venture capital investments into information technology companies worth $3.01 billion in the first three months of 2006, as compared with 269 transactions valued at $3.19 billion in the...

Microsoft buys Chinese.(Chinese electronic hardware)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Microsoft Corp. has signed a deal with China to purchase $700 million of Chinese electronic hardware over the next five years. The software giant also agreed to invest $200 million in Chinese software companies through joint ventures...

Intel to cut spending.(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff In the wake of slowing pc buying and increasing costs, Intel said it will decrease its spending for the rest of the year by $1 billion. Even spending on new factory equipment, considered sacred among Intel executives, wasn't safe,...

Resistors spike.
May 18, 2006... Staff Checklist for supply After shortening in march, resistor leadtimes jumped way up in April to longer than 10 weeks for wireround and more than 13 weeks for network resistors. Compared with March, when the majority of...

Best-kept secrets for reducing LTL costs.(less-than-truckload)
May 18, 2006... David Hannon Movements and forecasts With rates on the increase for less-than-truckload (LTL) services, buyers and logistics managers are getting antsy. Put sky-high gas prices on top of that and any company shipping anything is...

Business Intelligence.(trucking industry)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff $94.3B The amount the trucking industry will spend on fuel in 2006 Source: American Trucking Associations WHAT IT MEANS: The higher their costs, the higher yours. Diesel fuel crept up to nearly $3/gallon in late April,...

Detours.(Truckload capacity)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Truckload capacity is a concern to shippers. According to the latest financial statement from truckload carrier Marten Transport, "Freight demand for the quarter was not as robust as in the first quarter of 2005, but our customers...

Diesel fuel forecast revised.(price of diesel fuel)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff The American Trucking Associations (ATA) on April 25 revised the trucking industry's 2006 fuel costs, projecting an increase in the amount the industry is expected to spend on fuel in 2006. ATA said the trucking industry will spend...

Strong demand, service concerns continue.(rail services)
May 18, 2006... Staff Demand for rail services remains strong, with carriers reporting record financial results and increased per shipment revenue. Canadian Pacific Railway reported a 6.8% increase in revenue per shipment, including fuel surcharges....

Not ready for prime time--yet.(electronics industry in china will grow )
May 18, 2006... Paul Teague, Editor in Chief All living things start out as infants and then grow. That's true for commerce too. It may start small but it will expand, inevitably. Keep that in mind as you read our cover story in this issue. As Jim...

Manufacturers meet to help BLI with testing, reporting.(Buyers Laboratory Inc)
May 18, 2006... Susan Avery While it seems unlikely that representatives of competing manufacturers of document imaging devices--Canon, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba, Xerox and others--would get together to openly discuss scanning capability and security features...

Business Intelligence.(Genuine Color Awareness)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff 40% Annual sales growth of store-brand imaging supplies Source: InfoTrends WHAT IT MEANS: Office buyers are turning to lower-cost, high-quality inkjet and laser printer supplies in increasing numbers 100% ...

Office Briefs.(environmental strategy)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff Office Depot has named Yalmaz Siddiqui to the post of environmental strategy advisor. Siddiqui is responsible for further developing Office Depot's environmental strategy and integrating its wide-ranging environmental initiatives...

Xerox adds MFPs that help control color costs.(multifunction products)(Brief article)
May 18, 2006... Staff At this week's on demand conference and Expo in Philadelphia, Xerox is introducing three multifunction products (MFP) capable of monitoring, tracking and managing color usage. This, in turn, helps office buyers better control cost....

<EMPHASIS TYPE="ITALIC">Purchasing </EMPHASIS> publishes new book on MRO and indirect sourcing.(launch of 'MRO/indirect Sourcing Casebook')
May 18, 2006... Staff Purchasing has published MRO/indirect Sourcing Casebook, a compilation of the best stories written in the magazine on the topic in the past three years. In the book, readers will find case histories that present purchasing...

Humberto Ocampo, indirect materials manager, Costa Rica, Intel.(interview)(Interview)
May 18, 2006... Interview by Paul Teague Movers and Shakers in Supply Chain PLAYER: Humberto Ocampo, indirect materials manager for Costa Rica, Intel. EARLY ON: "I was trained to be an industrial engineer with an MBA with emphasis on...

Centralization streamlines purchasing.(purchasing methods)
May 18, 2006... Paul E. Teague When you manage the purchasing function at a small company, you have to be fleet of foot because often you're a team of one. Just ask Jay Johnson, who totally revamped procurement at Fitcorp, New England's largest fitness...