There is never a shortage of dumb things people say. In fact, no matter what is going on in our business, good or bad, up or down, scary or comforting, there is always somebody somewhere who will say something dumb about something. And I’m not even talking about the current political atmosphere where a collection […]
What Customers Crave More Than Anything Else
When it comes to what customers really want there is one big secret. They think that they want our products or services. They think that they want us to deliver good products on time. They think that they want good quality. They think that they want a great price (or “great value” as they would […]
The Good Old Days
Remember when it was fun? Yes, the good old days always seem whole lot better than they probably really were at least in the rear-view mirror. But, looking back from these too serious times we live in today, they probably were a lot better than we even remember Here are a few stories from that […]
Facing Those Staffing Challenges
Of all the challenges we face in the PCB industry today, the most challenging by far, is staffing. It is getting near impossible to find good people. This is especially true for engineers and Quality people as well as management. Most of the good ones have either retired, changed careers, or gone to work for […]
Six Things That Will Guarantee A Great 2018
Okay here we are again. The beginning of a brand-spanking shiny new year. 2018! Who would have thought we would make it this long? But we did, and the North American PCB business is still alive and kicking. But, as we turn the page on another new year we should consider what we want to […]
Does Your Plant Look As Good As You Think It Does?
It’s all of those little things that make a big difference How good do you think your company is? How do you think you’re doing? What do you do well? What do you need to work on? What do you people think when they walk into your lobby? These are questions you should be asking […]
The Other Side Of The Story
We ended last week’s column with a group of designers from a high-tech company asking me the ignoble question, “Why do all PCB shops suck?” And, I promised, I would not only address that question but also explain why there are two sides to that story. First, let me say that the designers who asked […]
Five things Contract Manufacturers Can Do Right Now To Get More Business
Everyone is struggling to fill their factories these days, as the fight for more business heats up. It used to be that contract manufacturers had a good solid base of good customers, they could depend on year after year. Many of them were satisfied to pick up a couple of customers a year as their […]
Contract Manufacturing: Winning Those Big Accounts
Contract manufacturing is a service not a product. As CEMs, we are actually building someone else’s product, someone else’s baby. Our customers are putting the fate of their companies in our hands. If we build the product incorrectly our customers will be the ones to pay. In the end they are the ones who have their name […]
Better Relationships With Your PCB Vendors Will Yield Better Boards
We have talked a lot in this column about how board shops should treat their customers. How they should try to get to know their customers and their needs. So now let’s switch things around and talk about how customers should treat board shops, how they should work with board shops to get the best […]