2018 ended with a poor quarter for semiconductor sales, 8.2% down on Q3 sales. The outlook for Q1 2019 looks even worse, with most major semiconductor companies expecting declines greater than 10%. Key factors driving the decline are weak end user demand for electronics devices, allied with inventory adjustments at manufacturers as they reposition production to cope with the lower demand. Part of the underlying reason for this decline is a slowdown in world GDP and major economy growth. The IMF expect world GDP growth to slow from 3.7% in 2018 to 3.5% in 2019; the impact...

According to the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA), global passive sales (capacitors, inductors and resistors) improved by 25.2% last year in dollars, and by 16.7% in unit shipments, with an increase of 7.3% in average selling prices. 2018 saw unit sales reach 7.4 trillion, totalling 32.1 trillion dollars. Capacitor sales improved by 27.9% in dollars and 12.5% in units, with the average selling price increasing by 13.7%. Inductor sales improved by 5.4% in dollars and 4.6% in units, with average selling prices increasing by 0.8%. Resistor sales improved by...

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We shared a post on continuous improvement and Lean activities in December 2018. Carrying on with this theme an additional valuable business exercise is to undertake is a "Gemba walk". Gemba is Japanese for "The Real Place" and in business it means "the place where value is created". All too often management are involved in lengthy discussions trying to resolve an issue or find efficiencies without talking to those employees who undertake the tasks. A Gemba Walk means getting out of offices and meeting rooms and going to where the action is! Tom Peters and Robert Waterman also wrote about...

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Business Consultant, Angharad Storrie, interviews CEO of Component Sense, Kenny McGee, regarding selling excess electronic components. AS: What are the basics you need to know about selling excess electronic components? KM: Our clients are primarily focused on building electronic products. Selling excess is a by-product of what you do. When you are building a product there will always be excess or surplus components. There will be components that become obsolete or redundant for your purposes and that is just the natural order of things. Over time stock accumulates and it begins to harm your business. There are many different reasons...

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What is 5S? 5S is a structured way to create and maintain a clean, organised and safe workplace. 5S was developed by Hiroyuki Hirano in Japan and was adopted by the Toyota Motor Company. It helps create and maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of a work area by having everything needed close to hand and any clutter removed. 5S is a common starting point for Lean activities in a company by eliminating waste from processes such as: wasted time searching for items; excess inventory; extra motion and extra processing. What is it for? Using the 5S techniques it is a...