How Musk Delivered Tesla Ventilators in Such a Short Period of Time

Tesla didn't make the ventilators but had them delivered probably from elsewhere. I appreciate Tesla CEO Elon Musk's talent and role on this, but let's talk about a less-mentioned and less appreciated role of the manufacturing expeditor.

Earlier this week, Tesla's Elon Musk stepped forward to offer what help he and his many companies could in the fight against the virus. He promised masks and said that in addition, he was planning PAPRs and ventilators to help. Here's the positive news update.

"In every manufacturing company I have worked for (5, including Thermo Fisher Scientific) in an engineering or marketing role, one of the hardest jobs at the corporation was that of the "expeditor." An expeditor is a person whose job it is to make deadlines move forward. Think of a situation where a customer suddenly wants something that you make or provide. Be it a medical device, a vehicle, or even a service. Your company can do the job, but not in the time required to earn the customer's business. Making the end product is not the problem. Your company has the capacity to do the part that they themselves perform. The problem is always the widget that is part of the machine. It comes from Upper Scubbobia and there is just one supplier. The normal lead time is 6 weeks, but to earn this big order your company has to have it in 3. Including transit," writes Torque News Tesla reporter John Goreham.

Tesla did not produce the ventilators. The ventilators were purchased from a company and shipped from China. A place where the Coronavirus is having a big impact. Yet, those important machines were shipped away from there and into the state of California. Maybe it was Elon Musk who made all the calls to get those ventilators out of a country that needed them. Maybe it was Musk and a team of assistants who did the job. Or maybe it was a single person who worked her talent. Regardless, it was not Tesla or SpaceX or The Boring Company's engineers and machinists and fabricators who delivered those machines. It was a person acting in the role of expeditor who did it. As we give thanks for Elon Musk's successful effort, let's not forget the folks at manufacturing companies who really make it happen when the crunch comes. The expeditors.

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