Designing Strategies for Innovating Supply Chain Management

 Adrian Quinones, an operation and supply chain leader and a seasoned engineering professional, excels as a manufacturing executive. He spearheads corporate operational strategy across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia, driving innovative business models, and handling relocations, start-ups, and outsourcing. As Director of Supply Chain at Curtiss-Wright Corporation, he manages manufacturing plants in Chicago and Portland in the U.S., and in Pune, India, and Suzhou, China.

In an interview with Aerospace and Defense Review magazine, Quinones shares his insights on the supply chain challenges in the aerospace industry and implementing effective strategies to mitigate them.

When it comes to the supply chain, what are the major pain points affecting organizations lately?

At Curtiss-Wright Corporation, we go beyond the aerospace and defense sectors. We also produce nuclear energy controlling devices and industrial sensors and controllers for various kinds of on and off highway equipment and other applications. Electronics is an important part of our business, as well as plastics and specialized metals.

“Diversification is key in managing supply chains. Developing new suppliers locally saves cost and increases reliability of the supply of materials and components”

Electronics components, predominantly used by the automotive industry, experienced a surge in demand after the pandemic. This led to a shortage of microchips for aerospace, as most OEMs shifted to supplying microchips to automakers.

In addition, immediately after the pandemic, there was a shortage of some plastic resins. As a result, we initiated modifications and obtained approvals for alternative resin materials in our products.

What strategies do you apply to mitigate risks and maintain continuity in supply?

I recommend diversifying the supplier base with at least two suppliers for the same type of items. Having multiple options acts as a backup; in case of disruptions, the other supplier can step in and maintain production with the respective tooling and testing for approval. 

When I started at Curtiss-Wright Corporation, we faced the issue of relying too heavily on one source. For instance, we had a single supplier for printed circuit board assemblies. If something went wrong with that supplier, we would be severely affected. To counter this, we're diversifying not just within our country, but also internationally. This enables us to have backup options in Mexico, Canada, India, Indonesia or China if the need arises.

What strategies are you implementing to attract and retain talent in your organization?

We have implemented a program to visit universities and promote our company to students and make them acquainted with our capabilities, methods, and the ways they can benefit by working for us. We have engineers of very high caliber that we procure from top level universities.

Another strategy that we have executed in my division is to train interns. Right now, there is a need for machinists and people who perform assembly and maintenance, and they need to be trained. We also offer internships in some key areas. This will enable us to develop a pool of talent that we can hire from.

What are some recent projects taken up by your organization?

We are working on strategies to save cost and increase the reliability of the supply chain of materials, components and subassemblies. To achieve this, we have been developing new suppliers in newer areas. For example, we are trying to get into Costa Rica and Honduras, rather than Mexico to develop our new suppliers there.

I have implemented the policy of, “in the region, for the region”. The main reason for this policy is precedence. This approach will act as a safeguard in case of any future natural disaster like another pandemic and ensure we are more in control of our operations.

Can you share some upcoming plans or goals of your organization?

We're innovating new products to cater to the growing market of electric trucks and vehicles. We're working on traction inverters and charge switching units for the truck sector. These units will convert AC grid power to DC power charging the onboard batteries and deliver it to the electric motors in trucks.

Volvo, one of our customers, aims for 100 percent electrification of cars and trucks by 2040, and we're gearing up to support their transition.

What would be your advice to your peers in the industry?

In the book 'From Good to Great', author Jim Collins says, “Get the right people on the right seats of the bus so you can get to the destination”. The inference is to always hire the right people with the right skills in the right roles.

As a supply chain director, I also emphasize on proactive strategies in allocations and in placing orders in advance to secure supply. Forecast for two or three years and let your suppliers know your plans, so they're prepared in advance.

On an ending note, diversification is key in managing supply chains. The need is to maintain redundancy in suppliers for components with materials like plastics, metals, and electronics. Tooling up and approving at least two suppliers for the same type of items is well worth the expense on tooling, testing and approvals to ensures seamless transition in case of disruptions.