According to Patrick Hung, president with EMS provider Season Group, the company’s name is based on two Chinese words: ‘sea’ which translates to ‘time’ and ‘son’ which translates to ‘trust’.
Hung’s Asia-based Season Group International (www.seasongroup.com) had 2008 revenues of US$60 million.
The VentureOutsource.com EMS Corner Office project quotes EMS industry executives on topics in industry today. Season Group’s Patrick Hung talks about building trust with customers and dealing with component shortages.
“The only way to gain the customers’ trust and loyalty is through time,” says Hung. He says an EMS provider must consistently deliver on its word.
According to Hung, Season Group is very open with customers on quality issues as well as pricing so that both sides can work together more easily. “Customers appreciate this,” he says.
Season Group’s 1,800 employees help the contract electronics manufacturer with locations in Asian and North America serve the medical and automotive electronics industries; plus security, communications, alternative energy and other end-market sectors.
Hung says he plans on expanding and intends to hire at least another 270 employees over the next six months.
When asked about challenges facing the EMS industry near-term, Hung says the number one issue he sees is establishing a stable supply of quality material.
“During this climate, with severe shortages in supply, EMS providers must establish dialogue with each component manufacturer so there is a clear understanding on actual demand”, says Hung.
He goes on to say — in what he sees as a heightened state of industry awareness — that everyone, from electronics distributors to manufacturers, are placing larger-than-necessary purchase orders while the component manufacturers are unable to meet existing demand. “Component manufacturers are naturally concerned with the validity of these inflated demand requests, thus refusing to increase capacity,” he adds.
Hung firmly believes that only after a clear dialogue is established then component manufacturers and EMS providers will be able to determine true demand. “[They will] most likely give preferential allocation,” he adds.
“This is what EMS providers need to do. This is the value-add they can provide to customers.”
VentureOutsource.com is always on the look out for EMS executives willing to answer a few short questions and share their industry perspective and experiences with our readers. If you have interest in participating in our EMS Corner Office project please contact us by e-mail at insight[at]ventureoutsource[dot]com. We will get back to you with more details.
VentureOutsource.com, August 2010
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