American manufacturers are throwing away business opportunities. Are you?

According to a recent statement by US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, national electronics procurement is at a crossroads.

“[America] can no longer clearly identify the pedigree of its microelectronics,” she said. “Therefore, we can no longer ensure that backdoors, malicious code, or data exfiltration commands aren’t embedded in our code.”

According to Lord, a variety of price pressures – ranging from government regulations to labor costs – have driven manufacturing of electronics offshore and created not only an economic imbalance but a security threat as well. “That’s what we need to reverse,” she said.

Like the Defense Department, American consumers also support bringing manufacturing back onshore. They believe the “Made in USA” slogan means saving American jobs and, often, superior quality of goods. They support “reshoring” – bringing the manufacturing and assembly of goods – back to the US.

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Being ready to pivot offers flexibility and keeps vendors honest.

What is your company’s PCB buying strategy as we emerge from the confines of the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown? Do you have one?

Those responsible for corporate procurement need to understand supplier diversification is the key to remaining competitive in this challenging economy. Yet, many OEMs and EMS companies have invested too much of their annual PCB spend with only one vendor. That could prove to be a costly mistake.

I understand and appreciate vendor loyalty, but are you leveraging your vendor, or are you being leveraged by your vendor?
The truth is companies that stick with this one-vendor approach will have a harder time remaining competitive in the post-pandemic world. “We have used this vendor for years” is not a viable strategy.

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