Materials Environment Drives New Challenges

Any supply-chain management executive will likely tell you that 2021 is 2020 on steroids. Reason: While 2020 had supply-chain disruption, the worst part of that disruption was followed by drops in customer demand due to Covid-19-related lockdowns, so the situation never worsened beyond spot shortages or transportation delays. This year, pent-up consumer demand combined with historic low interest rates supporting consumer spending is spiking product demand in multiple industries as consumers make purchases they delayed in 2020. 5G infrastructure is rolling out, demand has increased for electric vehicles, which have substantially more electronic components per car, and Covid-19 continues to drive higher medical equipment production. As a result, demand variations are changing schedules weekly. At the same time, constraints developing in the materials market are driving higher prices and longer lead-times. Transportation and freight resources are stretched, and pricing and lead-times are increasing. Covid-19 continues to cause some level of disruption as hot zones develop around the world. In short, 2021 will be a year where multiple variables are constantly in flux. Read the full article here.

A Look at Trends in the EMS Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic is fostering more cohesive relationships between EMS providers and their customers. This Medical Product Outsourcing magazine article looks at some of the challenges created by this global pandemic and ways that EMS companies are addressing them. Read the full article here.

Are You Fully Leveraging Your EMS Provider’s Expertise?

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is that it frees up capital and resources by making it possible for an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to focus on core competencies and marketing. A good electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider doesn’t simply build products, they are experts at product manufacturing. One of the reasons for that expertise is that is there is no room in most EMS companies’ margins for inefficiency. When an OEM adopts an EMS provider’s recommendations for process improvements that impact the outsourcing relationship, its internal efficiency may also improve. This element is important because while most OEMs measure costs at their EMS partner to the nth degree, they may not be measuring the cost of internal inefficiencies relative to engineering or supply management practices. SigmaTron International operates a global network of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) facilities and works with its customers to achieve efficiency throughout the product realization process. This whitepaper looks at four areas where EMS project disciplines can help drive improvement in OEM project disciplines. Read the full whitepaper here.