Those of us who have spent our lives in sales, sometimes forget who really matters. As we pursue those elusive orders or solve problems, meet challenges, and soothe angry customers, it is easy for us to forget those who are really doing the work. The ones who are back at the shop, sweating it out […]
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 […]
I Can’t Prove It, But I Know That It’s True
How many times have you felt something in your gut that you know it’s true but there is no good way to prove it? You just have a sense, a feeling, an intuition, that what you are thinking is right but there is just no way to prove it. So, with that in mind here […]
10 Things Great Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Companies Do
The most important space in electronics these days is contract manufacturing. As more of our OEM’s become innovation, and marketing companies, they look to the contract manufacturers to build their products. Just about every company from Apple, to Intel, has yielded the manufacturing of their products to contract manufacturers. And, it is often the company […]
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 […]
A Frustrated PCB Customer Speaks Out
I recently got an e-mail from a good friend of mine. He has been in the industry even longer than I have, and that’s a really long time. He works for one of the most high-end defense and aerospace companies in the world. His company has also used their technology base to branch out and […]
Marketing Your Contract Manufacturing Company
Does anybody know your name? Unlike PCB shops where there are now less than 200 left in North America, there are well over 1000 contract manufacturers of all shapes and sizes. Everyone knows the big guys from Celestica, to Flextronics, to Sanmina to Plexus all of them doing hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, […]
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 […]
Training The Youngsters: Show Them The Possibilities
There is no doubt there is a shortage of young people in our business. As we all get older, the challenge of finding young people to replace us is getting more severe. Last week in this column, we talked about finding young people in our own organizations and then nurturing them to become an integral […]