Supply Chain Management

Increased competition and growing customer demands, coupled with material and labor shortages, have made supply chain management more challenging than ever. We work alongside our clients to protect their interests and effectively address the changing nature of their strategic alliances, intellectual property issues, global logistics and contract management needs.

Our supply chain attorneys have provided counsel for a variety of industries over the years, including technology, aviation, electronics manufacturing, satellite and telecommunications, food and beverage, and hospitality. Some issues cut across industries, some are industry-specific.

Our experience with the many phases of the supply chain lifecycle helps us to understand the different pressure points for different industries. Above all, we recognize that building and protecting strategic relationships is what’s most important.

We help our clients to develop successful supply chain relationships, assist in risk mitigation and disaster recovery plans related to supply chain relationships, and structure contractual relationships with process safeguards to reduce the risk of disputes with arrangements, including:

• Procurement and supply chain contracts, domestic and international, including development, prototype and production manufacturing, buffer inventory agreements, distribution and reseller arrangements.
• Sophisticated supply arrangements, including exclusive requirements contracts (sole source) and output contracts (sole user) including buy-back, quantity-flexible and various minimum/ maximum terms, and where either or both parties are restricted from similar business with third parties.
• Warranty and extended warranty agreements.
• Repair center agreements with service level commitments
• Raw materials, component, tooling and equipment acquisition, bailments and consignment, and disposition
• Intellectual property development and licensing agreements
• Trade secret, confidentiality, and restrictive covenant agreements with developers and suppliers
• Logistics arrangements including warehousing, distribution and delivery arrangements

We assist our clients with analyzing and minimizing the risks related to each step of the supply chain life cycle. These include supply chain planning, development of supply relationship system, templates and standard terms and conditions, negotiation with suppliers, relationship closing and post-execution relationship management issues.