Pizza, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, and 3 NPI Tips to Guarantee an On-Time Delivery

This past week Senator John McCain expressed his frustration concerning cost overruns and the production delay of the largest and most expensive acquisition program in DOD history, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program. The program promised 1,013 fifth-generation fighter jets by the end of fiscal year 2016, but only 179 are expected to meet on-time delivery. That’s the equivalent of ordering a large pizza with twelve slices, but you only receive two. In addition, the program has doubled in price to $400 billion and the last fighter jet will not be delivered until 2040. Now the $10 cost of your large pizza is $20 for only 2 slices, and that last slice of pie will be delivered in one week, not 45 minutes after you placed the order.

Whether you are a senator ordering fighter jets or an engineer managing new product development, on-time delivery is essential. Here are a few tips from the NPI Services team.

1. Be Prepared
• Take time to review and understand your customer’s order. Sounds simple, but it’s easy for critical details to be missed during the contract review phase.
• When NPI Services receives your BOM (Bill of Materials), our Project Managers conduct a ROM analysis to ensure that your prototype does not exceed cost, and will meet your project deadline.

2. Communicate
• Transparent communication between you and the customer will eliminate customer service issues and increase consumer loyalty.
NPI Services will provide an Open Issues Report with every quote, listing alternative solutions to component lead-time issues and/or obsolete parts.

3. Satisfy your Customer
• Recognize that your client’s order affects not only your relationship with them but possibly the client’s relationship with their own customer.
• NPI Services consistently achieves 99% On-Time Delivery.

“When Quick Turn Matters”, call NPI Services to quote your next mission-critical printed circuit board assembly requirement.