What makes a good partner?

Your ideal partner will be a company of people who think like you, talk like you and care like you, because they are engineers and that’s what engineers do. Here are some tips to help you recognise them. 

1. Check their credentials 
   Trust is vital, as your reputation and your intellectual property are at stake. If you’re shortlisting CEMs, stick to reputable and well-established businesses which can demonstrate high levels of client satisfaction. In terms of certification, insist on ISO-approved facilities and on work to IPC 610 Class 3 – considered the ‘gold standard’ in electronics assembly. 
   
   
2. Assess their capabilities
   An online search and, ideally, a visit to their base should show whether they have the expertise and the resources to meet your needs. As well as deep experience, they must have the volume and equipment to achieve economies of scale in purchasing and manufacturing.
    
3. Get to know each other
   Your initial discussions will give a good idea of whether your values and philosophies are a good match, and how well they understand the needs of a business like yours. A good partner will make a considerable effort to get to know your employees, company structure and industry. 
   
   
4. Watch how they operate 
   You can always try them out on a small job to see how things go. Their genuine passion as engineers, first and foremost, should be evident in their approach to your projects. See if they take an active interest in, for example, optimising your board designs, testing for reliability, cutting your costs and taking on the burden of procurement and other processes.