Doe & Ingalls

Redefining your chemical supply chain

February 2012

Cerium Compounds Shortage

By Charlotte Hicks, posted 02/23/2012

I am writing to share with our blog readers news of a shortage on rare earth metals, specifically Cerium compounds used by the electronics industry. Over the last year, China has increased export restrictions on rare earths, causing shortages across the rare earths1. At this time, Ceric Sulfates are scarce, and the shortage is expected to last into Q2 or longer.
 

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Warehouse & Distribution Center Operations

By Matt Francis, posted 02/10/2012

It’s good to be blogging again after a couple months off. In my last post of this series on reexamining supply chain fundamentals, we discussed transportation.


Today I’m writing about leveraging your warehouse and distribution center operations to drive effectiveness and efficiency within the supply chain. When examining your warehouse operations, focus on three areas: flexibility, training and the use of metrics.

 

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L-Arginine Alert

By Charlotte Hicks, posted 02/1/2012

I am writing to share with our blog readers news of longer than normal lead times for the amino acid L-Arginine. Extended lead times are expected to last into Q2.

 

L-Arginine is used in the Biotech market, but it also has many applications in nutraceuticals, animal feed and food & beverage. Recently, increased demand for sensitive teeth formulations of toothpaste has caused the L-Arginine market to tighten. With this increased demand, we have heard reports of backorders lasting from Q2 2012 up to Q1 2013.

 

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