EMS
Why geopolitical issuesmatter to the electronics industry
Simply searching for the absolute lowest labor cost has proven not to be a good long-termstrategy, as these costs rise quickly By Jennifer Read, Charlie Barnhart & Associates LLC
Recent events across theMideast underscore the surprising and unpredictable nature of global politics. The drama continues to unfold as oppressed populations demand freedomand reform. Connected through social networking applications and thousands of cell phone cameras, the unemployed young people in some emergingmarkets are losing patience with those in power.
As other observers have noted, the fact that a Google executive
was instrumental in regime change in Egypt is symbolic of the crucial role that technology has played in unleashing these forces for change.
What should managers tasked with global manufacturing
operations for electronics industry companies take away from these momentous events? Do the risks of entering emerging
26 |March 2011
markets now outweigh the benefits? As midmarket companies in industries other than the 3 C's -- consumer, computing, and communications -- design and/or redesign their global manufacturing supply solutions, they are experiencing a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
Much has changed since the earlymultinationals in pioneer
industries set upmassively entangled cross hemispheric supply solutions.While itwould be amistake to think it is desirable or even possible to reverse the tide of globalization, there is alsomuch that can be learned fromthe data nowavailable. A knee jerk response in any case should be rejected unequivocally.
"Smaller companies have the f lexibility and nimbleness to find and exploit a nichewith little risk and fanfare," said Jennifer Read, co-founder and principal,Charlie Barnhart & Associates LLC
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www.electronics-sourcing.com
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