Review: Find It. Book It. Grow It.
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
In Find It. Book It. Grow It.: A Robust Process for Account Acquisition in Electronics Manufacturing Services, Susan Mucha explores the account acquisition process of companies in the EMS industry. ”From an OEM’s perspective, the process of evaluating and changing EMS suppliers is both labor-intensive and costly. Most purchasing departments and engineering teams are overworked,“ Mucha explains, and this is why EMS companies must define ”compelling value propositions for key segments“ and promote them effectively.
Growing the business requires a differentiation strategy and a focused process for maintaining mindshare within a diverse target market, and Mucha is able to map out this process to guide EMS companies. She sees good marketing as comparable to good process control on an SMT line. ”The basic marketing process is the same for most EMS companies. The elements that vary are the message, budget, and the combination of marketing tools used. The more unique and targeted the message, the more the brand is differentiated,“ she states. Once an OEM bids for EMS, the provider must maintain their relationship like a marriage. ”Communication and robust program management processes are key to maintaining a long and mutually satisfying relationship.“ The end result? Sustained profitability, Mucha says. And that ought to be a compelling goal for EMS providers.
With over 27 years experience in the industry, Mucha has worked in and consulted to EMS companies. She designed this book for CEOs, VPs in sales and marketing, sales directors, sales and program managers, and other leaders in EMS and related manufacturing services industries. Look for Find It. Book It. Grow It. in industry association bookstores and online retailers.
Report: Outsourcing Handset Manufacture
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — For brands in the mobile handset/wireless markets, effective management of outsourced design and manufacturing is essential to competitiveness, reports iSuppli. The analyst firm asserts that 30.1% of mobile phones produced in 2007 were built by original design manufacturers (ODMs) or EMS providers. Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM, iSuppli, notes that mobile handset brands must know how to use design houses and contract manufacturers, deciding which products to outsource, the types of manufacturers to employ, and what services are needed.
In an iSuppli-sponsored Webcast, Wu presented ”Mobile Phone Design and Manufacturing: Movers, Shakers, and Sufferers,“ detailing outsourcing trends in this sector, the influence of Chinese OEMs and the tendencies of Korean ones, along with a comparison of EMS and ODM offerings. To learn more, visit www.isuppli.com.
January Book-to-Bill Dips
The combined rigid and flex PCB industry book-to-bill for North America fell again in January, sagging below the 1.00 benchmark to 0.97, according to IPC. November through January typically exhibit lower book-to-bill ratios; this does not forecast market recession. Every January, IPC opens its monthly statistical programs to new participants. Month-to-month growth rates are not available.
- Shipments for rigid PCBs were up 5.6% from January 2007; and bookings rose 13.7% year-over-year. The book-to-bill fell to 0.97.
- Flexible circuits shipments declined 17.9% and bookings slowed 20.9% from January 2007. The book-to-bill reached 0.96.
- Combined, the flex and rigid PCB market climbed 4.0% in billings and picked up 10.9% in bookings from January 2007.
Association News
At IPC Printed Circuits Expo/APEX/Designers Summit in Las Vegas this month, IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries presents Bob Neves with its highest recognition, the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award for lifetime achievement with the association.
Neves formed Microtek Laboratories in 1985 for PCB testing, and joined IPC in 1986. He’s since participated in nearly 50 committees, and, as he says, hasn’t missed a major IPC event. He contributed to IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee since 1992, chairing the group from 2004 to 2006. He helped orchestrate the California Circuits Association’s (CCA’s) entrance into IPC; Neves served as the IPC/CCA Council’s first chairman. He spent nine years as chair of the IPC Rigid Printed Boards Committee.
Neves focuses on IPC’s role in educational support, and international development and collaboration. He presently is committed to help TGAsia, IPC’s new committee group in China, for terms and definitions, assembly and joining, and product assurance.
The SMTA is saddened to announce that Norb Socolowski, first president of the association, passed away at 85. Norb is survived by wife Jean, who asks that any donations made in his memory be sent to the SMTA’s Hutchins Educational Grant. Norb endured Parkinson’s disease and long-term diabetes. He and Jean lived in Las Vegas and in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Norb was manager of product development at Alpha Metals, Inc., and spent 18 years with the company (now Cookson Electronics) in development and engineering of solder assembly materials, focused on SMT and hybrid package assembly products.
Beyond the SMTA, he held industry memberships in ISHM and SME. He remained active in the SMTA throughout his life.