2000’s Supply Chain – The Nokia Vs. Ericsson Rivalry

Things To Know About Supply Chain Security

Here is a story of the fire than tipped the balance within an industry.

Two stalwarts in the mobile phone industry in March 2000 were equally impacted by the same event –

a lightning fire in the chip manufacturing plant of their common supplier, Philips, in New Mexico.

Both Nokia and Ericsson experienced business disruption to an equal extent as a result. Fire damage to the stocks was extensive.

More importantly, the manufacturing capacity was damaged and it was difficult to estimate the time for repairs.

Nokia has invested months, if not years, in creating and perfecting a robust and responsive business network,

while Ericsson’s business network was relatively a middle-of-the-line affair that worked well when things were good.

After the fire, Nokia was able to see the full impact of the chip shortage on its own business, as well as the entire industry with a lot more clarity than Ericsson,

and even Philips. Moving quickly, it activated other parts of its business network to shore up supplies,

redesign some of the chips to manufacture them in other plants, and take pre-emptive steps in the network.

Ericsson let the situation evolve at its own pace and made decisions more reactively.

The resulting gain in profitability and market share for Nokia, and the loss of these for Ericsson tipped the balance of the industry to an extent

where within a few years Nokia pulled far ahead of Ericsson which never caught up with its erstwhile equal rival.

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Source: The 5-STAR Business Network https://www.5starbusinessnetwork.com

I write about The Supply Chain CEOs, The 5-STAR Business Networks and Unchain Your Corporations. My website is at http://viveksood.com