Supply Base Design Checklist
An Electronic Designer's Guide to Success
by Ken J Bradley

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It’s taken for granted that a product’s inception is solely a matter of design. Particularly in the world of electronic product design, architects and designers hold the reigns in the earliest stages, leaving the involvement of procurement and operations until later—often, too late. When a product’s supply base isn’t a primary concern from its very inception, companies leave themselves open to vulnerabilities in sourcing—materials shortages, price fluctuations, and unreliable producers, among much else. Drawing on his many years of experience in semiconductor technology and product development, including as a chief procurement officer, Ken J Bradley argues compellingly for procurement’s involvement in a product’s design from Day 1, and provides an organized guide for ensuring it across all stages of its lifecycle, including . . . • How to make procurement a part of the design team • How supply base design helps ensure pricing power for sourcing components from the get-go • How bills of materials (BoMs) can be optimized by involving procurement early • How to vet suppliers with both design and sourcing in mind • How to design a product thinking ahead to its end of life (EOL) • How involving procurement in design can help better prepare your company for the coming AI shift • So much else! Full of thoughtful insights and practical checklists, Supply Base Design Checklist is a revolution in thinking when it comes to electronic product design, helping your company ensure your product is both technically and practically sound, reliant on a solid supply base across its lifecycle.

www.kenjbradley.ca

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Having spent many years in semiconductor technology and product development, advanced manufacturing operations, technology transfer, joint venture negotiations, and procurement leadership, Ken J Bradley is no stranger to the problems—and solutions—presented in this book. Inspired by his experiences in the field seeing how the failure to consider procurement early in a product’s lifecycle led to serious problems later on, he was inspired to distill these lessons into a practical guide. Bradley spent six years as chief procurement officer at Nortel Networks (1996–2002), after an illustrious career working in negotiating, engineering, and executive roles for Nortel, before assuming the role of CEO for Coresim Inc. (2003–2005), working in electronic design analysis. He currently works as chief strategy officer and chairman for Lytica, a SaaS electronics component supply chain analytics company focused on sourcing and pricing, which he founded in 2005. In addition to these roles, he has served on the boards of directors of a number of private and public organizations, including SynQor Inc., Radisys, Powerwave, Lobe Research Institute of the Ottawa Hospital, as well as consulted for Lattice Power and SunSun Lighting. He is a past member of Professional Engineers Ontario and a graduate of Algonquin College in Electronics Technology. You can find out more about his company at www.lytica.com. He lives in Ottawa with his wife, Sue, and dog, Bella.

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Ken J Bradley