The strength of EMS manufacturers is managing routine operations in the hardware manufacturing supply chain. But they are unable to grasp control in situations demanding originality.

EMS providers build to customer specs, and without artificial intelligence every EMS manufacturer will suffer the general coarsening and limitation which has fallen on an entire manufacturing industry.

While some EMS manufacturers are able, to some extent, to evaluate the practical means by which desired outcomes for transforming manufacturing supply chains can be realized, EMS provider leadership does not have the technology stack and are incapable of applying critical thought to the major end points to drive real change.

I’ve spoken with several hundred EMS manufacturing sales people, CEOs, COOs and EVPs, and when it comes to discussion about marketing, sales and differentiation of services in EMS manufacturing industry, in each EMS professionals’ own mind its as if a serpent of doubt rears its head regarding the EMS provider’s own lack of understanding about how to position services for complex supply chains, with multiple functional groups, processes, and procedures all supporting OEM customer manufacturing programs.

Its been my experience, only a small minority of EMS first-contact people (sales and marketers) are devoted to acting in the best interest of the OEM customer.

By nature, the vast majority of EMS sales and marketers are glib thinkers possessed by private, short-term impulses, and unable to comprehend and articulate complex ideas and concepts effectively.

As the hyper-competitive contract electronics industry becomes increasingly vanilla for EMS firms competing with other EMS providers in their respective markets, the challenge (and capability) for the EMS provider to communicate their value proposition unfortunately currently rests on the shoulders of glib-thinking sales people.

Every week we witness sub-par sales and marketing activities and I hear directly from OEM buyers of EMS complex services, how EMS sales people undermine near- and long-term EMS corporate business objectives impacting top line revenues simply by not being aware. Not being present.

The strategic nature of consultative selling requiring an authentic, critical sense for complex electronics design and manufacturing services with the best interest of pre-qualified buyers in mind is being squandered and lost.

As EMS marketers struggle to find new customer opportunities to fill pipelines, and EMS sales people today are no longer focused on helping drive and close ‘new’ customer business, the EMS sales person has become just an additional program manager tasked with managing existing customer accounts and unable to draw distinctions between sales and program management and lacking a singleness of purpose. (Read more on EMS marketing and sales purpose here)

As we continue to support our mission to provide actionable information to electronics OEM decision makers tasked with finding potentially suitable contract electronics partners, I welcome EMS sales or marketing people reading this to reach out for a healthy exchange. You can contact me here.

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