A one-size-fits-all approach can lead clients to your competition.

Recently I had an under-the-slab plumbing leak. I’ve been using a plumber who has deliberately kept his business small for over three decades. He is responsive, but complex jobs often take longer because he doesn’t have all the tools the larger plumbing firms carry in their vans. He also doesn’t have their overhead, so for most jobs he is more cost competitive. I called and he walked me through shutting off the water at the meter because he couldn’t come until the next day. Part of my childhood was spent in Florida, so I applied my post-hurricane water management skills while I was without running water.

Sadly, when he arrived, he was unable to determine the source of the leak. Watching the meter spin, he mentioned it was a big one. He recommended a water leak detection firm. Its voice mailbox was full, however, and said it sometimes took a couple of days for them to return calls. My plumber reassured me he would come back after we found the leak. I got on the computer and found a water leak detection firm that operated 24/7. Fifteen minutes later they were at my house and 30 minutes after that we knew where the leak was. They were able to cut a hole in the wall and cut off the bad pipe so I could have water in the rest of the house. They couldn’t fix the leak until the next day, and it would likely involve more demolition to reroute the pipe, so I had a decision to make.

Tips for adjusting to changing customer forecasts.

The EMS industry is running true to a cycle no one likes: big drops in demand following a period of inventory buildup. The drivers for inventory buildup were material constraints and unpredictable spikes in demand following the Covid lockdown period. OEMs increased both raw materials and finished goods in their desire to stay ahead of parts shortages and customer spending sprees. Unfortunately, our heated economy is finally slowing. While consumer spending has remained strong, they are tightening their belts on big purchases and purchasing fewer discretionary items.

As a result, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers are seeing a different set of issues than they have been dealing with the past two years. Material inventories are still high and forecasts are dropping as customers slow down new orders to burn off existing finished goods inventories. How do you counter these challenging trends? There should be three areas of focus: