With Japan in crisis, so are global supply chains. With the world’s third-largest economy basically in standby mode, manufacturers stateside--and around the world--are scrambling to adapt.
Most metal fabricators aren’t assemblers sitting at the end of a long global supply chain, but many of their customers are. Disasters like last week’s earthquake reveal the uncertainties of long supply chains, and for fabricators it also brings up the question of inventory: How much is enough? Lowering inventory frees up cash. But knowing all the uncertainties of a global economy, how “on edge” should a shop operate?
