My love-hate relationship with printers goes way back. I worked in several corporate offices during the 1980s when there was one printer on every floor and it wasn’t working 50 percent of the time. The only person who could load or fix the printer was an executive assistant who had more important things to do.…
Opponents of offshore manufacturing and immigration reform point to U.S. job losses as the main effect of these actions. Yet two studies released this week conclude the U.S. manufacturing industry is facing a drastic shortage of talent. The U.S. will require nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade, and 2 million of those jobs are…
If there is any limitation to the Internet of Things (IoT), it’s that devices need an internet connection to function. Many parts of the world don’t have the level of connectivity that the U.S. and other developed nations enjoy. It’s possible, research suggests, that the appeal of the IoT will accelerate the rate of internet…
The Internet of Things (IoT) is everywhere, and the market opportunities are mind-boggling: 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020. The value of the IoT devices and services market will reach $7 trillion by 2020. The benefits to users are infinite. Is this the “killer app” the high-tech market has been waiting for? The…
It’s no secret that electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers have been trying to increase their profit margins. Deeper penetration into the aerospace and defense (A&D) markets may provide such an opportunity, Frost & Sullivan reports. “To maximize revenues, EMS providers must respond effectively to changes in the A&D industry,” said Frost & Sullivan Measurement &…
The continued growth in the number of components used by automotive manufacturers has spotlighted new opportunities for component distributors. There are many positives to the increased penetration of electronics in automobiles including improved safety, better fuel efficiency, navigation and infotainment. While consumers, semiconductor manufacturers and automotive OEMs stand to benefit from these advancements, these opportunities also…
The electronics distribution industry has evolved to the point that the old monikers used to differentiate companies no longer apply. Distributors that used to print phonebook-sized tomes of component specs now do the bulk of their business online. “Catalog” no longer describes distributors that specialize in low-volume high-mix component orders. Now, “independent,” which was used…
Sanmina Corporation (SANM) said Nokia Networks, the world’s specialist in mobile broadband, recently recognized it for outstanding quality with a 2014 Quality Award for Supplier Excellence. With more than 6000 suppliers worldwide, managing quality is crucial to Nokia Networks’ success and growth. The Nokia Networks Quality Awards program was established to encourage and reward superior…
In spite of supply chain collaboration, MRP technology, supplier consolidation and a long period of ample component supply, a panel of leading EMS providers say they have less visibility than ever into demand signals from their OEM customers. Executives from U.S.-based OnCore Manufacturing Services, Variosystems Inc., Kimball Electronics Inc. and Plexus Corp. gathered recently to…
Outside of corporate management, engineers are the most valued—and best-paid—members of the electronics supply chain. So why do so many customers expect to get engineering services for free from their business partners? The distribution industry for decades has been struggling with this issue. “Giveaways” began with value-added services. Customers that bought components from distributors asked…