European Microelectronics
Subcontractors?
Everybody knows the trend that many OEMs want to change fixed costs (e.g., salaries) to variable costs. It started with the outsourcing of production. Subcontractors could specialize in these disciplines, continuously investing in new assembly lines and utilizing these 24 hours a day, offer competitive procurement costs due to volume, and subsequently meet demands for the yearly cost reductions by setting up manufacturing plants in countries with low wages.
Some companies even outsourced what was believed not to be their core competencies, like product development, prototyping, etc.
The subcontractors now offer “New product introduction” centers offering services like this. Quite often these centers are placed in the vicinity of the OEMs requesting this service – and often with personnel “taken over” from the OEM.
I will not debate here the pros and cons in outsourcing; we know that it is suitable and a great success for many, and a killer for others.
What I would like to focus upon is the apparent lack of delegates from subcontractors to our microelectronics conferences. Either they are too busy or we are doing a bad job in marketing our events to this growing important group.
In the IMAPS-Nordic territory with important OEMs like Ericsson, Nokia, Electrolux, Danfoss, Novo Nordisk, Volvo, SAAB, it has been a disappointment only to attract about 3-4 delegates from the world-class outsourcing companies.
This year at the IMAPS-Nordic conference & exhibition in Stockholm in September, we have suggested a new session titled: “Introducing new technologies to the production floor.” We plan to invite representatives from outsourcing companies to hear about their activities. Hopefully this can be the start of a continuing dialogue of benefit for both parties.
Definitely we have a lot to learn from these guys – and we should open their eyes for our role in disseminating information on the technologies of interest for their potential customers – and just as importantly demonstrate IMAPS’s role in networking and in the creation of new, friendly relations.
Søren Nørlyng
noerlyng@micronsult.dk
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