WireMasters is committed to making your job easy! That includes strategically planning, forecasting, and adjusting to the demands of the supply chain in today’s business climate. Vice President of Supply Chain, Clint Mendinsky, shares his thoughts on all things supply chain in honor of International Supply Chain Professionals Day! 

Why is supply chain management so critical in 2023?

The primary markets served by WireMasters are the commercial aerospace, military, defense, and space markets. Civilian and warfighter lives are on the line in every tier of the supply chain system, and failure is not an option. Designing a high-performance electrical system is just half of the battle. Just as it is critical to choose the right parts and components to create the system, it is just as essential to have the parts with the correct quality on time, every time. 

The pandemic reminded us of how important supply chains are as news of disruption dominated headlines. Variations in product quality and service performance jeopardize our customer reputations and overall mission. WireMasters understands this, and three of our core values (Quality, Service, and Excellence) tackle this head-on. We make it our mission to understand the pain points of our customers and the challenges/capabilities of our supplier partners, and it is our job to connect all of the dots of the supply chain in between.    

What is the landscape of supply chain management today?

The Covid-19 pandemic created substantial and ongoing impacts to the global supply chain. It created the environment of expecting new news each day of the next thing that is expected to be delayed and impact schedules. The cumulative result of all disruption remains extended product lead times and the requirement to anticipate risks in the supply chain with contingency plans. Lead times have seemed to stabilize across the commodity categories this year but remain very long compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the possibility of allocations of certain materials that make up the products remains a possibility. As a result, decisions need to be made much further in advance, and continuous monitoring and adjusting is a must as the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) principles are worked into supply chain management. 

The silver lining in all the disruption was creating an environment where true partnerships could be forged on both sides of the equation-with customers and supplier partners-through strategic alignment, constant communication and collaboration, and the incorporation of market intelligence into day-to-day decision-making. 

WireMasters decided to invest in analytics tool development and people to better connect our customers to our supplier partners to mitigate the chaos in the supply chain while other companies were taking cost-cutting measures. We created managed inventory solutions that provide transparency into the supply chain and how WireMasters operates according to our contractual commitments. These investments keep us positioned very well to stay nimble and make adjustments to our service models as market conditions change with the ultimate goal of servicing our customers and supplier partners. 

What is it like being the VP of Supply Chain at WireMasters?

Being the Vice President of Supply Chain at WireMasters is a good fit for me for several reasons. I am very grateful for the opportunity to leverage the connections I have established on both sides of the coin (the customer side and the supplier partner side) since joining the industry in 2007, and I enjoy forming new partnerships as our product line portfolio continues to expand. 

My personality assessments over the years have consistently indicated that I have a strong propensity to be a challenger and pursue change. Supply chain conditions over the past few years have created the opportunity to challenge the status quo in every way possible and try new things with less fear of failure considering how broken everything can seem at times. The environment, coupled with my personal style of challenging the status quo, came together at the right time to drive the service excellence of WireMasters to new levels. 

WireMasters operates with integrity every single day by doing what we say we are going to do. I am glad to be a part of the WireMasters family.

Partner with WireMasters to manage your supply chain today! Learn more or contact your WireMasters representative for more information.