Track 1 Session 10
9:10 to 10:10 a.m. Thursday June 11, 2009

Sub-Tier Supplier Management: Notebook Hinge Case Study

Supplier management efforts tend to focus largely on immediate or first-tier suppliers, which can cause some recurring issues as sub-tier suppliers can be overlooked in long and complex supply chains. In this presentation, we will examine a situation where the majority of lid hinge suppliers for notebook computers (a sub-tier supplier class) lacked a robust qualification plan, leading to inefficient issue discovery in the later stages of assembly. This presentation focuses on 1) discovering the issue and recognizing the need for improvement, 2) developing and piloting the new, robust, component-level qualification, and 3) coordinating the qualification roll-out to enable the immediate supplier to take control of and monitor the new sub-tier supplier’s qualification plan.

Key Words: Supplier Management, Specifying Reliability

Nathan Drees
Dell Inc.
Round Rock, Texas