2/9/2012
NEWS BRIEFS
Boeing “Drilling” Into Supply Chain for Reliable Deliveries
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT — Boeing is scrutinizing supply chain capacity and quality more closely than ever as its commercial-jet output reaches record levels, Bloomberg reports.
“A steady flow of jetliner components is pivotal for Boeing, which blamed part of the 787’s three-year delay on a shortage of fasteners and partners falling behind schedule,” writes Bloomberg reporter Susanna Ray.
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney expressed “pretty high” confidence that the 787 Dreamliner can meet a ramped up production schedule without stalling parts deliveries so suppliers can keep pace.
“With the suppliers, it’s not what they’re doing today, it’s their capacity to do what you need them to do tomorrow, which we now have a far greater capacity to understand,” McNerney told analysts and investors in New York.
Boeing is taking a “proactive” approach by demanding more information all suppliers and for the first time is “drilling down” into its partners’ own vendors as well, according to John Byrne, who oversees purchasing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
While 787 suppliers are reportedly meeting schedules, a recently disclosed delamination issue on Dreamliner fuselages has caused concern, though McNerney insisted the issue won’t affect 2012 deliveries, Bloomberg reports.
But Byrne acknowledged pressure across its supply chain.
“Weaknesses are beginning to cause increased risk” as Boeing ratchets up production in a planned 60 percent boost over four years by 2014, he told Bloomberg. “The biggest threat we have is poor quality.”
Lead times for producers of treated metal parts are another indication that the supply chain is straining to meet production rates.
Some smaller suppliers are swamped by Boeing’s new demands for extra paperwork, higher quality and lower prices.
Byrne said he would give Boeing and its supply chain a low grade of C- or D in light of the effort and cost needed to raise output while maintaining quality.
A “lot more work” is needed, he said.
In 2011 FIN traveled to Boeing facilities outside Seattle to interview Boeing executive John Byrne. Click here to read FIN’s interview. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT — Boeing is scrutinizing supply chain capacity and quality more closely than ever as its commercial-jet output reaches record levels, Bloomberg reports.
“A steady flow of jetliner components is pivotal for Boeing, which blamed part of the 787’s three-year delay on a shortage of fasteners and partners falling behind schedule,” writes Bloomberg reporter Susanna Ray.
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney expressed “pretty high” confidence that the 787 Dreamliner can meet a ramped up production schedule without stalling parts deliveries so suppliers can keep pace.
“With the suppliers, it’s not what they’re doing today, it’s their capacity to do what you need them to do tomorrow, which we now have a far greater capacity to understand,” McNerney told analysts and investors in New York.
Boeing is taking a “proactive” approach by demanding more information all suppliers and for the first time is “drilling down” into its partners’ own vendors as well, according to John Byrne, who oversees purchasing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
While 787 suppliers are reportedly meeting schedules, a recently disclosed delamination issue on Dreamliner fuselages has caused concern, though McNerney insisted the issue won’t affect 2012 deliveries, Bloomberg reports.
But Byrne acknowledged pressure across Boeing’s supply chain.
“Weaknesses are beginning to cause increased risk” as Boeing increases production in a planned 60% boost over four years by 2014, he told Bloomberg. “The biggest threat we have is poor quality.”
Lead times for producers of treated metal parts are another indication that the supply chain is straining to meet production rates.
Some smaller suppliers are swamped by Boeing’s new demands for extra paperwork, higher quality and lower prices.
Byrne said he would give Boeing and its supply chain a low grade of C- or D in light of the effort and cost needed to raise output while maintaining quality.
A “lot more work” is needed, he said.
In 2011 FIN traveled to Boeing facilities outside Seattle to interview Boeing executive John Byrne. Click here to read FIN’s interview. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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