Materials and Suppliers

Inputs

Dryden makes vaccum cleaners. It takes raw materials like steel and plastic and makes some of the components or parts used in its products. Other components are made by other companies.

Meterials and parts are just some of the inputs. The other are labour(workers and managers) and capital(money). Knowledge is also important because Dryden is a leader in vaccuum technology.

Vaccum cleaners that are being made are work-in-progress. At any one thime, Dryden has goods worth millions of dollars in its factories and warehouses: the products that hav been made its finished goods - and materials and components.

Quantities of raw materials, components, work-in-progress and finished goods in a particular place are stocks

Note : Goods is rarely used in the singular.

Words

Input /ˈɪnpʊt/ n.

[countable usually plural, uncountable] something or someone that is involved or used in a business

the value of the product as compared with the cost of the inputs

raw material n.

a substance that is used to maek a product

Crude oil is the basic raw material for styrene.

component /kəmˈpəʊnənt $ -ˈpoʊ-/ ★★☆ n. SYN constituent

[countable] one of several parts that together make up a whole machine, system etc

companies that make electronic components for computer products

part /pɑːt $ pɑːrt/ ★★★ S1 W1 n.

[countable] a piece or feature of something such as an object, area, event, or period of time

The front part of the car was damaged.

capital /ˈkæpətl/ ★★★ S3 W1 n.

[singular, uncountable] money or property, especially when it is used to start a business or to produce more wealth

The government is eager to attract foreign capital.

BrE work-in-progress ArE work-in-process

to not be finished or perfect yet

finished goods n.

goods taht have been made completely and are ready to be sold

At the plant, we convert raw materials and components into the finished goods.

stock /stɒk $ stɑːk/ ★★★ S2 W2 n.

[countable] a supply of something that you keep and can use when you need to

He keeps a stock of medicines in the cupboard.

Suppliers and outsourcing

Dryden recives materials and components from about 20 companies, its suppliers or partners.

The company is doing more subcontracting : using outside suppliers to provide components and services. In other words, it is outsourcing more, using outside suppliers for goods or services that were proviously supplied in-house: within the company.

Words

supplier /səˈplaɪə $ -ər/ n.

[uncountable] a company or person that provides a particular product

the UK’s largest supplier of office equipment.

partner /ˈpɑːtnə $ ˈpɑːrtnər/ ★★★ S2 W2 n.

[countable] one of the owners of a business

She’s a partner in a law firm.

subcontract /ˌsʌbkənˈtrækt $ -ˈkɑːntrækt/ vt.

if a company subcontracts work, they pay other people to do part of their work for them

We will be subcontracting most of the electrical work.

outsourcing /ˈaʊtˌsɔːsɪŋ $ -ˌɔːr-/ n.

[uncountable] when a company uses workers from outside the company to do a job

the outsourcing of the marketing to a specialist firm

Just-in-time

Of course, it costs money to keep components and goods in stock : stocks have to be financed(paid for), stored(perhaps in special buildings: warehouse) and handled(move from one to another). So Dryden is asking its suppliers to provide components just-in-time, as and when they are needed.

This is part of lean production or lean manufacturing, making things efficiently: doing things as quickly and cheaply as possible, without waste.

Words

warehouse /ˈweəhaʊs $ ˈwer-/ n.

[countable] a large building for storing large quantities of goods

It will be years before I catalogue her paintings in a warehouse room.

just-in-time adj.

[only before noun] if goods are produced or bought using a just-in-time system, they are produced or bought just before they are neeed so that the company does not have to store things for a long time.

just-in-time manufacturing methods

lean production n. SYN lean manufacturing

[uncountable] when things are manufactured using just-in-time production methods, with the aim of zero defects, no reworking(=working again on things that were done wrong) etc

He wants to bring in lean production, with fewer workers and more components being subcontracted.

Additional words

canteen /kænˈtiːn/ n.

[countable] BrE a place ina factory, school etc where meals are provided, usually quite cheaply

It is the end of this time. : )