Commentary

Direct Materials Sourcing: Putting a Price on Subjective Criteria

by Taras Berezowsky on May 18, 2012

Style:    Category: Manufacturing, Sourcing Strategies

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In this last segment of MetalMiner’s interview with Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep, we try to get at how an effective process can address subjective elements of sourcing. When it comes to subjective variables and the subsequent value placed on them, Maurandy said, “We run into that a lot especially with mid-market companies — say, between [...]

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Commodity Prices Fall on China and Greece Fears

by Stuart Burns on May 16, 2012

Style:    Category: Commodities, Investing Hedging, Metal Prices

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Investors are a funny lot. The phrase “herd mentality” may have been created to describe the behavior of our four-footed friends, but it applies equally well to the investor fraternity. For months, the prospect of a slowing China and the departure of Greece from the euro have been on the cards, prompting some no doubt [...]

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Compare Apples to Apples When Choosing Metal Parts Suppliers

by Taras Berezowsky on May 16, 2012

Style:    Category: Manufacturing, Metal Fabricated Parts, Sourcing Strategies

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Obviously, in our world of metals, product attributes are pretty important. So how does a middle-market firm really get at an “apples-to-apples” comparison in direct materials sourcing, rather than an “apples-to-oranges” comparison? Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep touches on some key points in this latest segment. Don’t miss the rest of the segments in this series: [...]

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Post-Jakarta Crash, Russia’s Sukhoi SuperJet 100 Sales Should Dip

by Stuart Burns on May 15, 2012

Style:    Category: Company News, Product Developments

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Embraer and Bombardier were probably not overly worried by the competition posed by the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 short-haul jet  prior to last week’s crash near Jakarta, Indonesia — but the tragedy will certainly hinder competition in the short to medium term from the jet that Russia had hoped would mark their return to civilian aviation. [...]

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The Elements of a Good RFI in Strategic Sourcing

by Taras Berezowsky on May 14, 2012

Style:    Category: Logistics, Manufacturing, Sourcing Strategies

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Everybody does an RFI in a sourcing process, and some of us at MetalMiner have personally been on the receiving end of some that include 235 questions or more — multiple spreadsheets, multiple tabs. So what is an RFI supposed to do? MetalMiner interviewed Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep to see what he finds to be [...]

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Obsolescence – The Reverse of Moore’s Law

by Stuart Burns on May 11, 2012

Style:    Category: Minor Metals, Product Developments, Sourcing Strategies

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Continued from Part One.  The only problem with these long-lasting tube-bending machines, wearily explained to us by the purchasing team one day, was that the engineers chose components from the book of the obscure, and as a result, when that component required replacement at some stage in the future, it almost certainly would no longer [...]

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Mitigating Obsolescence With Your Sourcing Strategies

by Stuart Burns on May 11, 2012

Style:    Category: Minor Metals, Product Developments, Sourcing Strategies

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Source: e-scribe.com A really intriguing article in the Financial Times this week explores the problem of obsolescence and how it is becoming more acute as the pace of change increases. Quoting a source, the article illustrates the point by saying in 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first plane, and the flight lasted for something [...]

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Mining Mogul Plans to Rebuild the RSS Titanic

by Brianna Tonner on May 11, 2012

Style:    Category: Company News, Ferrous Metals, Humor

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It never ceases to amaze me what people do with their extra pocket change. I couldn’t help but laugh at the announcement that a collective group of millionaires is investing in a project to mine on asteroids—including go-getter and film director, James Cameron. While I’m sure they are acting with the best intentions, I’m curious [...]

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