THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING AN ELECTRONIC CONTRACT MANUFACTURING COMPANY

There was a time when the economy was good and electronic companies handled the manufacturing. But then depression came around, and IBM's answer to it was to outsource to another independent company.

The move was unexpected, but right there it started a new trend. Electronic design companies, now called Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) continued to outsource and gave rise to Electronic Contract Manufacturing (ECM) companies, which took care of manufacturing at a lower cost.

As an OEM executive looking to hire an ECM company, you need to be careful when making a decision. If you want to retain the integrity of your designs, you must hire a professional, a company with lots of experience and good referrals to back it up.

Here are a few things to look for when choosing an electronic contract manufacturing company.

1. Project Management

• The ECM company should be able to demonstrate good project management. If it can't even present itself well in this stage, how do you expect it to manufacture complex electronic equipment?

• A solid project management plan should lead you through the project's concept development, engineering design, the device's prototype build, device testing, and design for volume manufacture.

1. Design Service

• ECM engineers should at least have a couple years experience in the manufacturing industry. Their specialization should include quality control, production engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, micro-electronics and analogue electronics. It's also a good sign if the company has handled small to large projects in the past.

1. Modern Facility

• You should never close a deal with an electronic contract manufacturing company without first visiting their facilities. Equipment should be modern and must comply with the most recent industry standards.

• Send a representative to visit them on the site. But better yet, schedule a trip and see their facilities and equipment for yourself.

1. Manufacturing

• All three pointers lead to this one – manufacturing. A solid ECM company should be able to keep up with the client's – your company – ever-changing needs regarding its chosen market. For this reason, manufacturing process should be multi-tiered to at least three levels.

• Simply put, an ECM company's manufacturing capabilities highly depends on its facilities, specialization of its engineers, and project management skills.

Outsourcing is still the trend, and electronic contract manufacturing companies are here to stay. If you're looking to cut down on manufacturing costs, go ahead and outsource to an ECM company. Always keep in the mind the pointers mentioned above, and your business will be in good hands.