Japan Earthquake Exposes Weakness in Aerospace Supply ChainMarch 25, 2011
A Boeing spokesman told Aviation Week that the company has not yet faced delays in its airliner supply chain because of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan earlier this month. But the Tokyo-based spokesman also said that several of its Japanese suppliers had been affected by the natural disaster and the still unfolding nuclear crisis. The company added that while it had sufficient inventory to manage short-term delays from these Japanese suppliers, it could begin to feel the impact if production problems persist beyond several weeks, according to the Aviation Week article. Meanwhile, Airbus says it does not know yet exactly what the impact of the twin crises in Japan will be on its production and monitoring the situation. The disaster has the aerospace industry taking a new look at supply chain risks — especially since airplanes require thousands of parts each as important as the other. Given that parts production is scattered across the globe, a disaster in any one location can affect overall production. "The catastrophe that has befallen Japan has raised questions about economic globalization and just-in-time manufacturing," Lexington Institute analyst Loren Thompson told Aviation Week. "Our idea about the way manufacturers are supplied rests upon a foundation of optimistic assumptions that can be washed away with one temblor [earthquake]." Management might begin to reconsider the "just-in-time" supply chain concept because of how vulnerable production can become from a major disruption and begin to carry extra inventory or look for second source suppliers in preparation. “Fasteners, etc., can be dual-sourced," Dirk De Waart, a director at the global management consulting firm PRTM told Aviation Week. "And it’s vital to ensure that both suppliers are using a variety of sub-suppliers.” |
|
