#supplier

New leadership, VP’s after J Hobg**d left.. made unnecessary work for Project Managers and Engineers! Don’t get suppliers rate ready, just make a new SIMS IMS excel sheet with 100s of manual entries, make only 5 POB purchase orders allowable from the beginning of the year, sending wrong supply signals to Suppliers, and then reversing course after procurement realizes pushing all the Purchase Orders to 2027, made all the suppliers say, “oh they don’t need the parts now, and slowed First Article process”! All because they wanted all the money available to show to investors on the books. So the VPs of procurement, planning and rate readiness delayed projects by their leadership decisions and will put it all on the Project Managers! The department cant focus on FAIR & if parts are delivered because they’re making new excel sheets with 100s of manual entries, and new PowerPoints with charts that takes focus away from getting parts produced! Project managers now also got to manage the production department deliveries! No focus on getting FAIRS done, just Directors and VPs focused on impressing the CEOs and getting a bonus and promotion!

I can’t wait to hear Farley’s voice reading from the script. From the DN:

Ford aluminum supplier not back at full output after September fire

Detroit — Production of aluminum at Ford Motor Co. supplier Novelis still has not fully resumed more than four months after a devastating fire disrupted supply of the metal to Ford's lucrative pickup trucks, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Following a massive blaze in September at the New York facility, Ford cut its 2025 profit guidance and said it would lose the output of up to 100,000 F-Series pickup trucks through the end of 2025. The company estimated the cost would be up to $2 billion, and it planned to mitigate about half of that. Novelis said it expected to resume full production by the end of December.

An additional fire in late November upset that timeline. Ford at the time said the November fire did not change its projections for its 2025 core profit. It is now unclear how the prolonged shutdown at the facility's hot mill might affect Ford's results for the fourth quarter or the first quarter.

A Ford spokesperson said the company would provide an update when it reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 10. A Novelis spokesperson pointed to the company's November statement, in which it said it "will continue to leverage alternate sources, including its global network of plants and industry peers, to mitigate impact."

The automaker is buying aluminum from other Novelis facilities, Ford executives have said.

Ford's F-Series line, which includes the F-150 and larger Super Duty truck, is by far the company's top seller and generates the bulk of its global profit, analysts estimate. While Novelis also supplies other automakers, Ford is a major customer because its trucks use a largely aluminum body.

The automaker said last year it would increase production of its F-150 and Super Duty trucks by more than 50,000 vehicles at plants in Dearborn and Louisville, Kentucky, in 2026 to recoup some of the lost production from the Novelis fire. It has axed production of the F-150 Lightning electric truck, which also used aluminum from the supplier, as part of a $19.5 billion write-down on its EV programs.

Novelis said the projected costs of rebuilding damaged plant areas and equipment would total $255 million, in an application for financial assistance from Oswego County, New York.

All the data collection that supports the initiative is an ongoing matrix submitted for supplier governance reason. Nothing changes with the data. And suddenly they are being reused and presented as a new initiative. This is not any reinvention! Just game playing. Coming from the person right at the top, I can conclude that the company is doomed.

Franco seems to think Nick Jonas is going to save us! To move fashion watches again we need three things: Fossil must lead in innovation, clearly prove value (quality + price), and consistently deliver. Right now it’s a train-wreck with poor leadership, no positioning, and zero value.

The consultants (notably Laks) obviously lack watch/jewelry and supply-chain experience and have replaced a once rock-solid unique supplier base with inferior vendors, creating an operational disaster. Bottom line is that without a rapid and decisive reset, we’re sinking!

PEGATRON is one of the chain suppliers for Dell and Apple and Samsung.

PEGATRON Corporation, a leading global provider of AI computing services, has acquired a 168,784-square-foot facility in Georgetown, Texas, marking its first manufacturing site in the United States. This development underscores Texas's prominence in tech and AI industries, with PEGATRON’s investment bolstering the state’s growing tech infrastructure.

The company, based in Taiwan, specializes in the design, manufacturing, and service of a variety of electronic products, including notebooks, smartphones, game consoles, and smart home devices. The new Georgetown facility will help PEGATRON better serve its U.S. customers with improved solutions and services.

The project was made possible through collaborative efforts by the City of Georgetown, Williamson County, Opportunity Austin, the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, and the Austin Regional Manufacturing Association. PEGATRON plans to invest at least $35 million in the facility and hire hundreds of employees, with an initial goal of hiring 100 within the first three years.

The facility, located at 610 Blue Springs Blvd., is set to begin construction by the end of 2025. Local leaders, including Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder and Williamson County Judge Steve Snell, have expressed enthusiasm over the long-term economic impact, particularly in terms of job creation and growth in the region’s high-tech manufacturing sector.

The project also involves performance-based economic development agreements, which will be reviewed by local officials to ensure the commitment to capital investments and job creation is met.

https://www.wilcotx.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=698

An increasing number of Taiwanese companies are establishing a presence in Austin-area suburbs like Hutto, Taylor, and Georgetown. As more foreign companies invest in the U.S. tech sector for its strong economic fundamentals, some, like MD, are hiring foreign workers to slash down costs.

I thought the idea for tariffs is to create manufacturers and jobs in the U.S. https://www.thestreet.com/retail/critical-us-manufacturing-company-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy