Уч.пос. Кузякин А.С., Попова Т.Г. Английский язык для управления цепями поставок

2.There was a dispute inside Apple Computers about how well the T/F transition to Intel would go.

3.Apple Computers was not 100% sure of achieving benefits from its T/F relationship with Intel.

4. The supply of chips from IBM to Apple had not always been continuous T/F and consistent.

5.Of the tree issues at stake – cost, quality and timeliness – cost is of T/F primary importance for the supply chain.

6.Just-in-time management system increases the risk of knock-on delays T/F just as much as it increases profits.

7.Every company measures the quickness of its response to customers’ T/F needs according to in-house standards.

8.The expected rate of growth of a company has nothing to do with the T/F quickness of its response to customers’ needs.

of price.

11.There is no alternative to sourcing components and materials T/F through the market.

12.As for now, suppliers and customers do not interact enough to T/F make supply chains effective.

Ex. 3 Translate from Russian into English

1.Процесс перехода Apple к новому поставщику чипов мог занять до двух

лет.

2.Изменения в Apple это громкое напоминание о необходимости развития тесных отношений с поставщиками.

3.Сложности в цепях поставок обычно имеют отношение к трем вопросам: затраты, качество и своевременность.

4.Задержки с эффектом домино в свою очередь сокращают прибыли.

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5. Одна из опций эффективного управления цепями поставок это управление всеми стадиями процесса производства внутри предприятия и в подвластных дочерних компаниях.

Ex. 4 Match these words and phrases from the article (1-10) with their meanings (a-j).

Ex. 5 Find words or phrases in the article with a similar meaning.

1whole: e_________

2are connected with: r___________

3very important: c______________

4extensive: w___________

5react: r____________

6obtain: s____________

7owned completely: w______ o_______

8honest and not secretive: o___________

9work: f___________

10timely: o__ ______

11Think of two more phrases to describe delivery that was late: b______

s________, d________

Ex. 6 Use words and phrases from Exercise 5 and from the article to complete this description.

Because our main supplier failed to deliver o__ t______, there were serious k___-o___ d_______ ____each stage of the manufacturing process. The result was that the new Rimo X9 was l___ t__ m_______.

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Jerry: Okay, but I don’t want to drag our feet in telling them, even if we’re not happy with their service. As a professional courtesy, we should let them know soon.

Camila: That may be true with other companies, but Tech Experts has really let us down this past year. If we didn’t have an airtight contract with them, we would have switched companies long ago.

Jerry: Well, maybe they’ll learn from their mistakes. After all, they’ve been in business a long time.

Camila: Yeah, but old habits die hard. And if you ask me, the company is on its last legs. It’s only a matter of time before they lose most of their customers, at the rate they’re going.

Jerry: I don’t know about that, but I do know one thing. It’s a good thing you’re not their PR rep!

(From ESL Podcast 688)

Ex. 10. Questions for discussion

1.What are the benefits and risks of sourcing materials and components through a network of suppliers? What steps can be taken to minimise the risks?

2.What practical steps can a company take to build strong relationships with its suppliers?

3.What should a company do if its long-time supplier has increased slightly in the number of defects in the last two orders, and moreover, the last order was late? What potential impact could it have on the company’s ability to meet orders if this continues?

Unit 5 Minimising risks with suppliers

Early warnings in the supply chain

by Richard Milne

When Edscha, a German manufacturer of sun roofs and other car раrts, filed for insolvency early in 2009, it presented BMW with a crisis. The luxury carmaker was about to introduce a new model - and Edscha supplied its roof. ‘We had no option of going to another supplier, as that would have taken six months and we don't have that time. We had to help Edscha survive,’ BMW says.

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Today, Edscha is still in business, because of the support offered by its leading clients, including BMV. However, BMW is still so worried about disruption to its supply chain that it has increased the number of staff in its risk-monitoring department with responsibility for component makers.

Such concerns are felt not just in the German automotive industry. Failures among important suppliers affect many sectors, from manufacturing to retail. So how should companies monitor whether their suppliers are getting into difficulty? And what should they do if they get into trouble?

It is essential to maintain good relationships with suppliers. Stephan Wagner, a professor in logistics management in Germany, says one of the simplest solutions is to communicate: ‘Talk to them. That will give you a very good feel for what is going on.’

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich proposes four steps, some already widely used but other, followed by only a few.

The first step recommended by EТН is to establish a rating system for a company's primary suppliers. The ratings should be based on Financial information, with cash flow more important in many cases than profitability. BMW looks at a variety of issues, including the ownership structure. It also maintains close contact with Audi and Mercedes, its main competitors, to swap information on suppliers.

The second, related, proposal is to set up an early warning system that monitors what is happening in the present. Such a system looks at operational issues such as whether quality problems are increasing at a particular supplier, аs well as financial issues, such as any attempt to change payment terms.

The third recommendation is to extend the ratings and communication with suppliers further down the chain. Professor Wagner says: ‘Many companies don’t even know who their second-tier suppliers are.’ He points to the example of a German carmaker where production nearly stopped after the sub-supplier of material for its seats went bankrupt.

The final proposal is to examine the interdependences in a company’s supply base. According to Professor Wagner, many companies with dual or multiple sourcing are confident that they would be able to switch supplier if one got into trouble. But research by ETH suggests this confidence may be misplaced: if one supplier in a particular area goes bankrupt, the probability increases that other suppliers in that sector will become insolvent.

Ex. 1 Translate the article above using the vocabulary and comments

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6.Frequent meetings and close personal contacts with suppliers will help T/F to increase productivity in a big company.

7.All moves proposed by ETN to prevent supply-chain disruptions are T/F followed by most companies.

8.The rating system of the suppliers is based on their profitability rather T/F than their cash flow.

9.Exchange of information on suppliers with competitors increases the T/F reliability of the rating system.

10.Both quality problems and financial issues are monitored in early T/F warning systems.

specific supply area.

Ex. 3 Translate from Russian into English

1.У нас не было выбора обратиться к другому поставщику.

2.БМВ увеличила количество людей, занятых отслеживанием рисков в цепях поставок.

3.Озабоченность ощущается не только в немецкой автомобильной индустрии.

4.Необходимо установить рейтинговую систему для основных поставщиков компании.

5.БМВ заинтересована рядом вопросов, включая структуру собственности поставщика.

Ex. 4 Find words or phrases in the article which match these meanings:

1a situation when a company is unable to pay what it owes its creditors: i______________

2a time of great danger or difficulty: c_________

3interruption of normal activity: d_______________

4the name of a department responsible for checking the status of risks: r____________________

5when businesses have to close because of lack of success: f_________________

6watch and check over a period time to see how something is progressing: m_________________

7a systematic method of evaluating how good suppliers are: r_________________________

8a series of steps for spotting potential problems with suppliers: e_________________________

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