Lucent Technologies: Global Supply Chain Management

In 1995, Lucent Technologies supply chain in Asia had many problems: long lead times, high cost, poor reliability, high inventories, poor technical support of customers and local Asian operations. This was, in many ways, a result of the historical supply of Asia from the United States. Local Asian facilities had been established as market-entry vehicles, an provided some high-level assembly and test, but the supply chain was organized around U.S. production and support. A substantial supply chain redesign was completed in 1996, providing more Asian content. This was very successful. However, continuing changes in the marketplace, in suppliers, and in the manufacturing environment suggested that the supply chain was no longer optimal.