May, 2017
www.us-
tech.com How to Choose the Best EMS Provider Continued from previous page
the complete investment. Next, look at the company’s financial
stability. They can provide you with three years of financial data, and there are also several commercial sources for looking up a particular company’s credit worthiness. The company’s financial
information
should give you the confidence that it will still be around when the product is to be de- livered. If that is a concern, then you shouldn’t bother with anything else. EMS businesses are constantly watching cash flow. Many times it is at its worst when they are buying inventory to meet your pro- duction needs. Traceability might also be a factor,
depending on the product. Some relatively low-end products do not require any traceability, but as complexity and cost increase, it can become a major issue. If a fix is needed after a prod- uct has shipped, wouldn’t you feel
When choosing an EMS provider, consider the entire cost — travel,
shipping, returns, etc. — to save dollars and
headaches in the long run.
more comfortable being able to recall all of the product built with a partic- ular reel of parts as opposed to all of the product built in a given year? Any potential EMS provider should be able to explain the level of data that it collects, how it stores this informa- tion, the security surrounding it, and how it can be accessed. Like traceability, testing may or may not be a requirement for certain
Assuming the job is turnkey, make
sure the manufacturer has the experience and processes for identifying, purchasing and monitoring inventory. Understand how they do this and how your inventory is identified and separated from others, if it needs to be. Consider all of this when choosing
your EMS provider. You are selecting a partner for your product, and do not let any one factor, like a few pennies saved up front, make you choose a manufactur- er that will cost you time, money, and be a frustration going forward. Contact: STI Electronics, Inc., 261
STI’s manufacturing facility in Madison, Alabama.
Palmer Road, Madison, AL 35758 % 256-461-9191 Web:
www.stielectronics.com r
Page 21
Technicians operate an SMT line.
products. If it is, this can be as simple as using a flying probe tester or by providing a test box. It may also be as complex as having the EMS compa- ny’s engineers develop and imple- ment the testing procedure, hard- ware and software. A word of caution: Don’t be the first one they do this for.
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