Electronics Manufacturing Outsourcing Dilemma

Many companies are facing the same dilemma, outsourcing the electronics manufacturing to a 3^rd party or should they run it internally by in-house teams. There are many electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies with various domain experience, so why not let them look after the product manufacturing? After all, Apple (and many others) are outsourcing their product manufacturing to an EMS company, so why shouldn’t you?

Can you reduce your cost?

EMS companies can help companies reduce their product cost and their operating cost. In such cases, the decision is very easy. But this is not always the case. An ideal situation is where the EMS company has qualified and lower cost teams and can source the components cheaper than you. But, due to the different phases of the project and the expected volume, there are still advantages in keeping things at home.

More time to focus on your vision?

If you are an innovative electronic product development company, you must have a vision or a roadmap for your future products. Managing both R&D and manufacturing teams can be channeling, and some time will force you to prioritize your time in favor of manufacturing due to unforeseeable issues. Letting an external company run your electronic manufacturing operation will free up your time (and mind) to focus on your vision.

Can run your own electronic manufacturing professionally?

You can, perhaps, save cost by running your own electronic manufacturing services in-house. But would it be as professional as using an external company? Will your customer be happy with your team? If you decide to run your own manufacturing services in-house you should invest in your team and keep them happy and up-to-date with the latest trends in both electronics and customer service. So, the question is what will be the quality level of this team and how professionally can they perform in the short and long run.

How flexible are you towards your market?

Launching a new product to the market is and exciting step but full of surprises. Your product could be a huge success overnight and you will need to ship new products instantly.  Do you have the manpower, capital and expertise to delivery both prototypes and high-volume products? EMS factories can offer a better response market demands and thereby better flexibility and lower risk so your company can cope with high and low market demands.