For decades now, companies in the electronics industry have been outsourcing electronics manufacturing to third parties. As The Houston Chronicle highlights, electronics contract manufacturers are able to produce high volumes of product to even the most exacting specifications, turn around that high product volume in very short periods of time, and do it all while saving their clients money. That said, it can hardly be said to be a surprise that outsourcing remains a mainstay of the electronics industry.
The electronic manufacturing service industry wasn’t always so effective or popular. A lack of competition kept prices fixed at relatively high levels and the hemorrhaging of American manufacturing jobs overseas proved a politically unpopular result of outsourcing. In just the last few decades, though, big chances in the electronic manufacturing service industry have made it a more acceptable, more viable option than ever before.
Three Recent Changes That Have Completely Changed the Electronics Manufacturing Service Industry
- Asian Manufacturing Moves Away from China
- U.S. Manufacturing Firms Make a Comeback
- The Internet, Mobile Tech Tighten Control Over Manufacturing
For decades, China was the number one spot for Asian manufacturing, thanks to rapid turnaround time and low costs. As the popular technology news site Techonomy details, however, Vietnam is increasingly seen as the place to look for affordable, high quality manufacturing companies. The increased competition can only be seen as a good thing, as more manufacturers have a greater incentive to keep their prices competitive.
As written by the Communications Workers of America, electronics manufacturing in the United States has made a noticeable comeback in just the last few years. While it’s true that the majority of American electronics companies still send their work abroad, an increasing number are choosing all American craftmanship, a choice that is proving particularly rewarding for those with older and more conservative customers. As with Vietnam’s move to the top of the list for best outsourcing locales, increased American manufacturing has helped to foster a far more competitive environment for companies at home and abroad.
Nothing has revolutionized the electronic manufacturing service industry quite like the advent of the worldwide web. For Forbes, the fact that mobile technology and the internet allow companies from the other side of the world to send their specifications for their products to a manufacturer and have their products made — without ever leaving the country — marks a turning point in the electronic manufacturing service industry unlike any other. The web allows businesses to track their manufacturing in real time, change volumes based on the market, and communicate with their partners, without delay. Just 10 years ago, none of this would have been possible.
If you’ve worked with electronics contract manufacturing companies for a long time, what are some of the industry-wide changes you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments below. More on this.
