@Risk

Results of a new MFG.com survey conducted last month reveal that supply chain disruption and supplier stability continue to be significant concerns for many North American manufacturers.

The two-part MFGWatch survey drew responses from 408 providers of manufacturing parts and services (the supply-side) and from 197 purchasing professionals from original equipment manufacturers (the buy-side).

When asked if they or their customers had experienced a significant supply chain disruption in the past three months, 38 percent of both buy-side and supply-side manufactures indicated that they had.

When asked to identify specific supply chain risks, buy-side OEMs cited material costs (47 percent) and supplier stability (39 percent) as the most important issues to their companies. By contrast, the vast majority (82 percent) of supply-side manufacturers said customer stability is the most important issue.

Obviously, manufacturers are continuing to face supply chain challenges resulting from a variety of factors, including not only the recession, but also compliance, sustainability, and other assorted stresses inherent in an elongated, global supplier network.

These MFG.com results remind me of an earlier AMR Research study, in which 12% of manufacturers said that more than half of their suppliers have experienced disruptions that impacted their ability to serve them.  Research like this signals loud and clear that supply chain disruptions and failures will continue to be high on the business agenda for quite some time.

The news isn’t all gloomy, however. Like the AMR Research study, the MFGWatch survey revealed some indication that the manufacturing sector is beginning to stabilize. While both buyers (28 percent) and suppliers (43 percent) say they have reduced staff during the past three months, they each are now expecting to hire more employees in the coming three months (suppliers 72 percent, buyers 75 percent).