"What are your priorities for sustainable profitability?" This is the question that we at Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI) are asking dozens of electronics industry executives -- mainly CEOs at contract manufacturers and brand-name companies that outsource electronics manufacturing. We define "sustainable profitability" as maximizing revenues, reducing expenses, and benefitting employees, customers, the environment, and society at large. Here's a quick summary of priorities set by the executives:
- Improve lifecycle processes -- from new-product introduction (NPI) to manufacture and distribution through products' "end of life": Increase efficiency; leverage more robust/updated software; and decrease waste / eliminate duplicated (and conflicting!) processes.
- Be proactive during economic uncertainty: Improve and centralize sales efforts; win back lost business/market share; reduce costs; train employees in sales/marketing/brand, processes, and new regulatory compliance; and increase competitiveness through certifications/compliance, new facilities, better equipment, technology, and training.
- Stay on top of compliance (e.g., conflict minerals, RoHS recast, REACH, Transparency in Supply Chains Act), and better socialize compliance issues with executive teams
Based on the above priorities, we predict a successful year ahead for those software, capital equipment, and consulting firms able to provide leading-edge solutions and demonstrate a swift and dramatic return on investment.
