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How AI could help us prevent the next global supply chain crisis
With our Joint Risk Management (JRM) application, we collaborate with our customers to assess and mitigate supply chain risk in the early phases of the product lifecycle.
Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)-driven analytics, we help assess your risks and mitigation options for greater supply chain resiliency. JRM is an automated report that provides part-level insights to identify supply chain risks for a product’s bill of materials (BOM), analyzing factors like the quality and capability of suppliers, how many other companies are using the component, and end-of-life risk. By identifying and quantifying these issues in the design stage, we help our customers avoid incurring production and financial impacts in the product build stage.
We began leveraging the tool for new products being manufactured by Flex. JRM analyzed 1,200 new products from November 2022 through November 2023, resulting in significant reductions in risk.
Each BOM analyzed contained an average of ~250 components on OEM products across industries that Flex serves, including Automotive, Industrial, Health Solutions, Consumer Devices, Communications and Enterprise Compute, and Lifestyle, resulting in the following positive impacts:
Average parts of a BOM identified and recommended to be moved from a single-sourced to multi-sourced position
Product risk reduction for a typical product BOM from JRM-identified opportunities recommending lower risk alternatives
EU RoHS compliant risk
Number of parts that contain certain hazardous substances which are restricted
End-of-life (EoL) risk
Parts with high to medium EoL risk that will become unavailable and require additional source
Lead time risk
Measures the variability of lead times benchmarked across different parts within the same commodity group
Stock out risk
Uses real time distributor data to check if current stock is available for parts
Availability risk
Measures historical data of similar parts within the same commodity and benchmarks performance to predict likelihood of future shortage to occur
Escalation risk
Number of parts that have been internally escalated within Flex during last 12 months due to material shortages
By proactively addressing risk with JRM, we are using supply chain insights in the design phase to help our customers succeed and deliver a competitive advantage.
Beginning in November 2023, we now proactively analyze the supply chain risks of all products manufactured by Flex, with JRM analyzing over 30,000 products each month. In the future, as we combine and build on existing analytics solutions, our customers will continue to incrementally benefit from clear, quantifiable, and actionable insights into their supply chain.
The powerful insights delivered by our Joint Risk Management tool come from leveraging a combination of both internal and external data sources. In addition to pulling information from Flex-owned databases of more than 5 million components, JRM monitors more than a dozen external data sources in real time and uses that information to assess risks and recommend solutions. Over 340,000 unique parts are tracked week-over-week to optimize decision-making and capitalize on market trends.
Flex’s unique position of being a global diversified manufacturer enables us to have this cross-industry visibility and insights into supply chain risk. With JRM, we help you mitigate potential disruptions in the supply chain by analyzing how much risk there is in a particular product and the associated components in the BOM. We can take best practices from different industries to develop strategies and innovations that enable companies to de-risk and build resiliency into their supply chains.
The Joint Risk Management tool program was recognized with the “Manufacturing in 2030” award by the Manufacturing Leadership Council in June 2023 for its forward-looking innovation and the value created with the benefits of the solution.
