How Can an Electronic Manufacturing Services Company Help You Make Unique Product for Business?

The electronics manufacturing services industry has seen multiple changes over the past five decades. But it has only seen one transition, i.e., contract electronic manufacturers or the CEMs have evolved into EMS companies since the 1980s/90s.

Modern-day EMS companies are far from the build-to-print model of the early years — they cover more than just assembling (or printing) circuit boards. In this article, we will talk about EMS companies and how they can help build unique products for businesses efficiently.

Role of Electronic Manufacturing Services Companies in 2022

EMS companies now are not just limited to manufacturing services. Their offerings go beyond physical products with involvement in product ideation, design, production, supply chain, fulfilment, creation of ecosystems for supporting products, and even end-of-life activity.

In simpler terms, you could come up with ideas, and one of these creative electronic manufacturing services companies would be able to help you build that idea from scratch.

Example:

Say you are a brand with a strong presence in the market with a mechanical product. You now want to introduce IoT to all your offerings and position your brand as a modern-day IoT-based solution provider. For this, you need to partner with experienced partners who will help you create new products or upgrade your existing offerings.

Benefits of Partnering With an EMS Company

Here are some reasons why you should consider working with an electronic manufacturing services company:

1. Create Unique Products

EMS companies can help you customise your product, a vital part of building electronic products. You can collaboratively work on improving the product’s usability, design, and aesthetics to make it better suited for the end user.

2. Improved Quality

An experienced electronic manufacturing services company has the right tools and expertise to ensure high-quality standards. In addition, they can support you with testing and upgrades for multiple products in different industries.

3. Cost Savings

There are significant benefits of outsourcing to an electronic manufacturing services company in terms of cost compared to building it in-house. Besides that, efficient equipment, machinery, and practices can reduce costs by reducing the overall errors and re-dos.

4. Improved Turnaround

EMS companies enable faster processes as they collaborate with selected suppliers and partners. Besides, efficient processes can reduce the overall production time significantly.

5. Specialized Manufacturing Services

Many industries like aerospace, healthcare, etc., have a niche and specific development requirements and expect very little room for errors. Partnering with expert EMS companies ensures quality and compliance with strict regulations.

Electronic Manufacturing Services Company: Idea to Execution

So, we saw the benefits of partnering with an electronic manufacturing services company. Now let’s look at how you can execute your product idea by collaborating with the right EMS company.

Step 1: Critical Basics of Your Project

First, you must figure out what is your end goal for the project. What are the specific needs for your project, and what is its future scope?

You would also want to check out your partner’s facility, equipment, workforce, practices, capabilities, etc., to ensure the partnership is a good fit.

Step 2: Think About Features

Think about the feature list. Ponder upon questions like:

• What are the capabilities you want your product to have?
• What will be your USP?
• What audience will it cater to?
• What kind of design will it have?
• Is it going to be a new generation project?
• What kind of usability are you looking to achieve?

You do not need to go into the technicalities at this stage, but you should at least know your project’s most sellable and unique features.

Step 3: Your Requirements Are Taken Into Consideration

Your EMS partner will consider all the components and design requirements and decide if there’s a possibility of a viable partnership on both ends. They will conduct market research on similar products in the market, understand their scope and shortcomings, and then align those with your requirements.

They’ll brief you about the cost estimates, resources needed, USPs, and approximate timeframe. They will help you bridge all the gaps and plan to finalise your vision.

The EMS will then generate a cost quote that divides your project into phases like:

• Schematic and mechanical design
• PCB layout and prototyping
• PCB testing

Step 4: Execution of Your Project

Your EMS partner will begin executing your project by starting with Schematic and Mechanical Design and then work up to PCB Layout and Prototyping.

In the first stage, Schematic and Mechanical Design, you will need to provide technical details to ensure that your EMS development team do not hit a roadblock, including the following:

• Bill of materials
• Requirements document (voltages, performance, etc.)
• Anything else measurable

After the mechanical design, your PCB assembly supplier starts working on your PCB Layout and Prototyping. The engineers will start with assembling the SMT circuit board. They might use the through-hole technology to execute this. Most suppliers first design the blueprints for a project and then multiple prototypes (five or up to five per project.)

They will then test these prototypes and see if it aligns with the specifications mentioned in the ‘requirement’ documents.

Step 5: Final Testing and Inspection

After the execution, your EMS partner will ensure that your product works as intended. They will undergo multiple tests (such as UL testing, CE marketing testing, etc.) to ensure that your product is legit. The testing stages and levels will depend on your industry niche. For example, electronic medical devices are highly regulated and need intense testing.

In most cases, the contractor conducts the final testing of a product and provides the first article of inspection (FAI). An FAI document certifies the precision of every facet of your product.

Step 6: Post-Manufacturing Requirements

Now that your product is ready to go to the market, you’ll need various aftermarket services to ensure the long-term success of your project. Ensure that you work with an EMS company that offers these aftermarket services:

• Product upgrades
• Calibration
• Repairs
• Rebuilds
• Refurbishing

Final Word

Now you know the six steps needed to successfully execute unique product ideas by partnering with expert electronic manufacturing services companies. Ensure your partner organisation possess the right expertise and helps you curate intelligent electronics products for your business. For more information, reach out to us here.