The Changing Design & Supply
Chain Landscape
Consumer and mobility applications are driving big
changes in the electronic components design and supply chain. As a result, the
ubiquity of semiconductors and other technology applications is clearly altering
the industry dynamics, forcing companies to either expand into or withdraw from
some business segments, which is blurring the lines between hardware and
software vendors, and generally disrupting established patterns and
relationships. (See Consumer & Mobility Alter
the Electronics Landscape, Part 1) A good example is Google and its ongoing
transformation into a full-fledged technology company with extensive interests
in both software and hardware. (See Flextronics Places Big Bet on
Google).
On the distribution front, two
reports reveal that even the big guys, including Digi-Key (See Digi-Key in China? Yes. Soon,
Too) and Avnet (See Avnet to Broaden Online Support
Services) are continually reinventing themselves and making adjustments to
meet the needs of their procurement, supply chain, and design customers. While
Digi-Key is expanding operations globally and putting "boots on the ground" in
key European, Middle East and Asia locations, Avnet is transitioning more of its
engineering and supply chain services and functions online as part of a
strategic effort to reach more customers, broaden offerings, improve engagement
with suppliers, OEMs and other partners.
In other news, we continue to
cover developments that are important and of interest to all supply chain
partners in the electronics industry. One of these ongoing topics is
counterfeiting, which has spurred a lot of pro-DNA and anti-DNA discussions.
Managing editor Barbara Jorgensen addresses the polarizing issue in The Ugly Truth About
Counterfeiting, while our contributing industry expert George Karalias
speaks out about the need for a collaborative effort with the government to
develop a more effective anti-counterfeiting technology. (See DNA Marking: What is the other
Option?)
You'll find something to pique
your interest in this issue of EPS NewsPlus and if you don't please let us know
how we can do a better job of providing the tools and resources you need to do
your job better. Drop me a line at bolaji.ojo@epsnewsonline.com.
Speaking
of serving the industry, I would like to enlist your assistance with a survey
EPS has launched as part of our efforts to gain a better understanding of the
electronics purchasing and procurement community. If you buy or specify
components for a manufacturer, we would like to hear from you. The survey won't take more than 15 minutes and we
will provide an executive summary of the reports to respondents in addition to
entering them into a drawing to win one of two mini iPads.
Simply
click on the following link to get started: http://survey.beacontech.com/2328/cgi-bin/ciwweb.pl?studyname=2328&p=3
Please be assured that all answers are completely
confidential and will be used only in combination with others we receive. Your
candid response is critical to the success of this research.
To
sign up for the News+Plus newsletter please click here.
See
you online soon!
Bolaji
Ojo
Editor
in chief & publisher
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Flextronics
Places Huge Bet on Google
Google Inc. is fast becoming the hottest must-have
partner for many supply chain service providers in the electronics manufacturing
industry. With the Web search engine provider expanding its roster of
electronics hardware, sales and profit opportunities running into billions of
dollars have opened up at the company for semiconductor makers and other
component suppliers, distributors, contract manufacturers, logistics providers
and independent design firms. Continue Reading . . .
Consumer
& Mobility Alter the Electronics Landscape, Part 1
Electronics Here, There, Everywhere: Implications for
Industry Design Chain & Supply Chain Landscape. That was the initial
headline for this article but the lengthy wording worked against this choice and
a shorter title was substituted. Yet, this analogy demonstrates clearly what's
happening in the world of electronics and how the ubiquity of semiconductors and
other technology applications is altering the industry dynamics, forcing
enterprises to expand into or withdraw from some business segments, blurring the
lines between hardware and software vendors, and generally disrupting
established patterns and relationships. Continue Reading . . .
Digi-Key Corp. is expanding
operations globally and plans in the near future to establish its first office
in China in furtherance of an internationalization program that will see the
electronics components distributor putting "boots on the ground" in key
European, Middle East and Asian locations, according to company executives. Continue Reading . ..
Avnet Inc. is moving to
transition more of its engineering and supply chain services and functions
online as part of a strategic effort to reach more customers, broaden offerings,
improve engagement with suppliers, OEMs and other partners, as well as further
streamline operating costs. Continue Reading . . .
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Apple Inc. doesn't have a
copyright on innovation but this point seems to be lost on Philip Schiller,
senior vice president of worldwide marketing at the company. All the comments
I've seen on Schiller's presentation to a jury in its court case against rival
Samsung Electronics Inc., tells me many observers - just like Apple itself -
don't get the true import of this legal tussle. Continue Reading . . .
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Nothing has polarized the supply chain like
counterfeiting. It has pitted segments of the industry against one another
(distributors versus brokers) and more recently divided the channel into two
camps: Pro-DNA and anti-DNA. Both of these debates center around proposed
solutions to the counterfeit problem in the channel and both have spurred
action. But these debates continue to miss a point about counterfeiting that
nobody in the electronics ecosystem wants to talk about: the role of OEMs and
EMS providers. Continue Reading . . .
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The semiconductor industry and its supply chain partners
would benefit from a collaborative effort with the government to develop a more
comprehensive and effective anti-counterfeiting technology. Continue Reading . . .
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In conjunction with coverage of California's major new
regulatory program aimed at reducing or eliminating many toxic chemicals in
consumer products, here is a link to an issue brief from Michael Kirschner of
ENVIRON, California's Safer Consumer Products Regulations: Near-Term Actions
and Priorities. Continue Reading . . . |
Forget
Re-shoring, China is still it
It's
easy to find evidence to convince anyone China will in future play a diminished
role in the electronics manufacturing market. Don't believe the hype. True,
aside from regular supply chain challenges arising from its location and
distance from main Western markets and other economic, geo-political and
logistics issues, the country's edge in production has been dulled in recent
years by a variety of factors, according to analysts. Continue Reading . .
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Sony
Nears Profitability on PlayStation 4
With the introduction of the PlayStation 4, Sony is
closer to profitability with component and manufacturing costs starting lower
than its price tag, after taking a loss on many revisions of its PlayStation 3
console, according to preliminary results from the Teardown Analysis Service
at IHS Inc. This is even with performance upgrades in the processor and memory
subsystem. Continue Reading . . . |
Jabil
Buys SGI Plant to Secure Contract
Jabil Circuit Inc. has agreed to purchase Silicon
Graphics International Corp.'s main manufacturing facility in the United States
in addition to certain other assets as the two companies seal their previously
announced outsourced production deal. Continue Reading . .
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Capturing
B2B Potentials of RFID
With RFID technology coming on line for many different
business sectors, I could not help but notice the impact for B2B applications
with respect to the management of critical data to ensure they can survive the
untimely demise of a product in the field. Why is this important? Instead of
having to reconstruct the scene of a crime, if it were possible to view the
moments during which the crime was being committed, wouldn't that shorten the
whole forensic process, possibly eliminating the tedium of specialized
troubleshooting with all of the associated expenses? Continue Reading . .
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