Component Supplier Management

Across the life sciences industry, the percentage of value created in supply chain continues to increase.  Globalization calls for a product development platform that can handle the complexity of a globally dispersed ecosystem.  With direct materials and engineered goods representing a significant amount of an organization’s spending, engaging value-chain members early in the lifecycle will bring large benefits. 

Dassault Systèmes (DS)' solution for Component Supplier Management is designed to cover the entire spectrum of managing a medical device product sourcing ecosystem.  With our solution, businesses maintain a single comprehensive supplier master repository that is accessible by multiple functions within the organization.  Product quality plans and supplier development plans are defined and assigned to suppliers ensuring that they follow standardized improvement and planning methodologies and best practices.  Product development managers and quality managers provide their suppliers real-time secure access to relevant product information, making them an integral part of the early design collaboration, quality management and supplier execution processes. The suppliers are assigned responsibilities related to specific product components and materials, allowing multiple suppliers to work together on the same product with differing visibility and access.

Supplier performance is tracked continuously through supplier scorecards comprised of report metrics on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from plants, certifications and supplier capabilities.  As a result, development plans can be devised together with the suppliers to maximize the value of strategic relationships.  This enables the ability to perform continuous improvement to processes and hand-offs between OEMs, suppliers, distributors and other key supply chain stakeholders.  

Organizations can reduce operational costs and improve profit margins by leveraging bill of material, specifications and other related data to build standard request-for quotes (RFQs) and quote responses for complex products and as well as off-the-shelf components.  We help companies streamline sourcing and product cycles through improved supplier communication, resulting in reduced supplier bid response time and improved bid accuracy.  Suppliers can submit ECRs (Engineering Change Requests) and collaborate with different functional groups early and throughout the product lifecycle allowing companies to reduce development costs and accelerate time-to-market.