COMPANIES
How CACI, Northrop see today’s supply chain & labor megatrends
Supply chain disruption and labor constraints go hand-in-hand in today’s environment based on how Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies described them during their earnings calls earlier this week.
Now CACI International and Northrop Grumman executives are adding their take on the situation. They also shared with analysts Thursday their respective agendas to mitigate potential negative effects on the businesses.
CACI International
Very few sectors can say they are completely insulated from the megatrend of stresses on the supply chain, whether that be finding raw materials or transporting them.
During CACI’s fiscal first quarter call Thursday, CEO John Mengucci said the issue for them surrounds finding materials for compute and computing power to integrate onto its counter-unmanned aerial system and electronic attack products.
Which indicates semiconductors and circuits to be configured by a customer or designer after manufacturing. Arlington, Virginia-headquartered CACI factored the shortage of chips for its Ascent Vision Technologies business in the company’s fiscal year 2022 financial outlook.
CACI and AVT also ordered ahead of need for certain long lead items, but may see some impacts going into next calendar year.
“The way we see supply chain in our market though: unlike commercial items, we’re viewing supply chain issues more of a timing issue,” Mengucci said. “The threat doesn’t go away. The delivery still needs to happen, so we are continuing to relook at the full delivery timeline.”
Mengucci also reiterated that talent: demand “absolutely remains high” for people with high-end technology skills and clearances. But he added that demand is also “really no different than it has been for the past several years.”
Also no different is the specter of wage inflation, almost always because of scarcity and sometimes because of the region they are based in. Talent costs more in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, for instance, compared to other locations.
“Top talent with specialized technology skills and certifications and badges and everything else that we’re looking at new employees for, as well as the fact that we are in a lot of cases hiring highly, highly accredited employees, I’m very happy to pay for them,” Mengucci said. “That’s what the marketplace bears and that’s what we’re …….
Source: https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2021/10/28/caci-northrop-supply-chain-labor.aspx