The right technology roadmap should help manufacturing companies anticipate changes in customer needs or industry trends and adjust investment strategies accordingly. But does your EMS company have a road map in place that you can trust?
What’s the purpose of a tech roadmap for an EMS company?
Like any map, it needs to show a company where they are now and where they need to be. A tech roadmap:
- Creates a clear picture of a company’s current infrastructure and capabilities.
- Maps how current infrastructure aligns with future customer needs and manufacturing trends.
- Identifies and avoids future gaps in capacity and capabilities (such as harnessing AI).
- Resolves potential conflicts around business priorities.
- Ensures business unit capabilities and tech plans are aligned across global sites.
Who should decide the technology roadmap?
In busy, international EMS companies, individual business units shouldn’t be making important, Capex decisions in isolation.
There may be pressing reasons to replace ageing equipment or invest in new kit and software powered by AI. But these competing demands have to be costed and ‘baked in’ to an overall global strategy if they’re going to be able to meet customer demands in every market.
To manage this - the whole EMS business should be working together to share research and knowledge - jointly deciding where their priorities for hardware should lie.
An EMS needs a cross-discipline team to build their roadmap
That’s why you should make sure any EMS company you work with has an international team that meet regularly to plan their tech strategy.
Engineering and business development teams should come together to report on changing customer needs, monitor future trends and make sure fresh information and ideas are always being shared effectively across the organisation.
Three Pillars that support every Technology Roadmap
|
Research |
Planning |
Knowledge share |
|
The team should be continually monitoring the technology landscape to identify new technologies and equipment that could benefit the EMS and its customers. |
The team should always be looking to standardise equipment across the company. This ensures consistency in maintenance and ease of equipment upgrades. |
The focus here should be on sharing knowledge and experience to prevent brilliant ideas and innovations being siloed within an organisation. |
Why an EMS technology strategy matters so much to customers
Innovation and competitive advantage
Innovation is at the heart of the electronics industry. An EMS provider with a clear technology roadmap is better equipped to innovate; offering cutting-edge solutions that can provide a competitive advantage to their clients.
Risk management
The roadmap also plays a crucial role in risk management. By anticipating future technology shifts, an EMS provider can make informed decisions on equipment investments, skill development, and process improvements, mitigating risks associated with obsolescence and capability gaps.
Joined up thinking
In addition, proper collaboration and communication protects a business from the risk of developing tech silos. The business needs to ensure what they build in one place, they can repair, finish or replace in another if they need to!
Cost efficiency
Strategic planning through a technology roadmap can lead to more efficient use of resources, optimising R&D investments, and avoiding costly last-minute changes. This, in turn, can translate into cost savings for clients, without compromising on quality or innovation.
Customer confidence
For clients, knowing that their EMS provider has a clear vision for the future should give them confidence they’ll keep their competitive advantage. It demonstrates a commitment to growth, stability, and long-term partnerships, which are crucial for businesses navigating the complexities of the electronics market.
Is your EMS partner on track for continuous improvement?
In global companies, there is always a need to experiment with new ideas before they are rolled out across an international estate. Not only are smart businesses planning and agreeing what they need in place to make them future proof, but trialling different approaches and sharing results.
Within ESCATEC, for example, the success of projects implemented over the past 12 - 24 months opens up new possibilities for additional robotics and automation across other global facilities. Some of the recent projects implemented leading to efficiency and quality improvements include:
- Automated screwing cell
- Automated glue dispensing cell
- Automated printing cell for plastic parts
- Robotic soldering stations
- Robotic screwing stations
- Material handling robots
Mapping future manufacturing needs against manufacturing requirements
There are all kinds of pressures on global manufacturing firms to work smarter, not least the advent of AI. But the whole business needs to understand where they must concentrate efforts to fulfil future demand.
|
Future product requirements |
Future manufacturing requirements |
|
|
Developing a collective understanding of the future needs of customers will encourage every part of an EMS company to experiment and collaborate in new and exciting ways without wasting valuable resources.
Your chosen EMS partner should be able to show you how all their business units work together to map out their tech strategy together.
