Supply chain, plastics compounders

Materials in the ADME/Tox screening process relate mainly to consumables (plastic ware, tips, plates, reagents, etc.) and the raw materials the tests will be performed on, which are plates with compounds and cells. To simplify the analysis, it is assumed that access to consumables is not a major issue, since these supplies can easily be ordered through the supply chain and are generally available to the personnel performing the test assays (Figures 1.4 to 1.7). 

If the processes in a supply chain are not coordinated, they impact multiple companies negatively. It may lead to activities being replicated, inconsistent flows, and erroneous decisions. It may take a great deal of effort to manage the cumbersome interactions between companies. For example, HP s supply chain for computer monitor comprised a contract manufacturer (Solectron), who bought the plastic case for the monitor from an injection molder, shown in Fig. 3.7 (Hammer 2001). The molding-material was purchased from a plastics compounder, who acquired the resin (for compounding) from a resin supplier. The supply chain was linear and hierarchical, with the resin supplier upstream, HP downstream, and the rest in-between. 

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