Reducing Time to Market

Across industries, the pace of technological change is accelerating. That creates significant opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but only if they can keep up.

Once fundamental, many of the differences between business and consumer markets are evaporating. In the old world, consumer product design was defined by speed and agility, as companies raced to stay ahead of fast-moving trends and fickle consumer preferences. Business customers, by contrast, were expected to prioritise stability, reliability and security of supply.

Today, the picture looks very different. Multiple industry sectors have entered a period of significant technological disruption. Manufacturing companies are aggressively pursuing the benefits of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). Carmakers are embracing connectivity, electric powertrains and autonomous driving. The energy sector is making the switch to smart grids, decentralised generation and renewables.

In each of these areas, leading players want to move fast, implementing new technologies quickly to capture savings, secure new positions in the market or outpace their competitors. In some cases, industrial market innovation is actually overtaking the consumer sector. The primary clients of 5G wireless networks are expected to be IoT devices rather than mobile handsets, for example.

For OEMs, this rapid change has opened significant opportunities, as their industrial customers have increased their appetite for innovative products and technologies. There is one problem: those customers want solutions today. That urgency translates into increased pressure to reduce development times and get to market faster.

Get the supply chain right

The need to accelerate the development and commercialisation of new products affects every part of an industrial OEM’s operations, from research and development, through sourcing and manufacturing to sales and product support. In response many companies are adapting their processes and reconfiguring their supply chains.

One proven way to reduce time, cost and risk in product development and manufacturing is through the use of specialist contract electronics manufacturing (CEM) companies, for the production of circuit boards and electronic assemblies. Outsourcing to a CEM doesn’t just reduce the need to invest in in-house manufacturing capacity, it can also provide companies with benefits that they couldn’t access on their own.

A CEM working for multiple customers may have the scale and purchasing power to secure prices for components and materials that would not be available to the OEM, for example. That’s especially true for the many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developing innovative industrial products today. Similarly, CEMs can afford to invest in advanced manufacturing equipment, ensuring high levels of productivity and quality.

Working with the right contract electronics manufacturer also makes life simpler. Bringing a new product to market is already challenging enough. A CEM gives its customers access to a mature, streamlined and flexible components supply chain, for example, eliminating the need to identify, qualify and negotiate with tens or even hundreds of individual suppliers. Leading CEMs have dedicated new product introduction (NPI) services to take a design through to prototyping and validation, testing and ramp-up to full-scale production.

The benefits continue once the product reaches the market. CEM organisations are inherently flexible: their business depends on an ability to meet widely varying customer needs. But flexibility benefits customers too, allowing them to move volumes up and down according to the needs of the market, or make modifications and improvements through the product lifecycle.

Collaboration is key

To capture the full benefits of outsourced electronics manufacturing, OEMs need to take the right approach. Naturally, they need to select a CEM partner with the right capabilities, processes and resources. Where time is of the essence, sourcing locally has important benefits, simplifying communication, reducing logistics costs and delivery times, and eliminating the challenges of customs and import processes.

It is just as important to engage with the chosen organisation in the right way. By involving a CEM early in the development process allows companies to benefit from their partner’s expertise. A contract manufacturer can often suggest design modifications or approaches that will reduce component costs, streamline assembly or improve quality, for example. As the project progresses, continual close communication ensures the expectations of both sides of the partnership are met, and that issues or challenges are resolved quickly and effectively. Once again, that close working relationship is much easier if the CEM is local and not in another time zone on the far side of the world.

In today’s increasingly dynamic markets, speed and agility have become vital competitive attributes for industrial product OEMs. When the right manufacturing partner can simplify, streamline and accelerate the path to production, this is not the time to go it alone.