A report out this month on the status of EMS provider Elcoteq’s Q2 financials, and titled ‘Dead man walking’, should give readers an idea the future does not bode well for the struggling Finnish EMS company. (See, also: ‘Elcoteq CEO …
Read more
Industry Pulse
Elcoteq as dead man walking
EMS v ODM: Pegatron after the turnaround
Pegatron is struggling, and straddling, EMS v. ODM business models because R&D resources are limited. Essentially, electronics product notebook design is like an ODM business model, but LED TV and iPhone assembly is more like an EMS business.
Read more
From Starbucks to Foxconn: A competitive supply chain is more than just lowering operations cost and inventories
Gene Tyworth, Ph.D., chairman for the department of supply chain and information systems (SC&IS) at Penn State Smeal College of Business talks with VentureOutsource.com about the skill gaps in today’s supply chain managers and which important knowledge areas tomorrow’s supply chain leaders should focus on. Plus, much more…
Read more
Can your company be as successful as Apple?
Do these five or six things and you win. It starts at the top. If your CEO is incentivized for short-term gains in the stock market and you do not hear from him between quarterly reports you will never be numero uno, dos or tres.
Read more
OEM strategies to reduce EMS provider pricing, sourcing costs
Is investing in supplier development key to OEM success in the market and increasing supply chain performance? (Apple invested billions of dollars in the production of its LCD panel suppliers: LG, Sharp, and Toshiba) Or, can greater OEM reward be achieved through supply chain cost reductions with EMS providers and suppliers?
Read more
Elcoteq CEO is out. Why and, what’s next?
Do you feel any member on the Company’s board is comfortable sticking his neck out to make the tough calls required in the current boardroom environment? It’s my guess board members will want to blend in as much as possible to not risk …
Read more
Foxconn automatons and outsourcing impact more than just jobs
To me, Gou is saying the 1.3 million employees Foxconn currently uses to do the repetitive, mind numbing tasks that produce so many of the gadgets the Company makes cost too much and make too many mistakes to continue to use them.
Read more
Tablets, tablets everywhere: Is iPad2 really unbeatable?
HP TouchPad vs. Apple iPad comparison and why this may be the wrong analysis. It might not matter if an improved product shows up two years later. A comparison is irrelevant since the real competition is the rest of the tablet field.
Read more
EMS unit price vs. OEM total value chain cost
EMS sourcing decisions are largely economic, but the largest cost differential between suppliers can be unrelated to unit price and any of the components mentioned. Basing a sourcing decision too heavily on unit price can be hazardous to your career.
Read more
Taiwanese ODMs get toothache from Apple
Apple’s iPad and increasing market share in notebooks are stirring trouble for ODMs Compal, Wistron, Acer and Quanta serving tablet and netbook markets. Consumer notebook demand to remain weak in the US and Europe but the situation for commercial purchases…
Read more
