Business process outsourcing has become the norm in 21st-century business operations. Many companies, regardless of size, shape different areas of their organization in this way, such as handling the company's IT services, accounting, or human resources. So what about manufacturing outsourcing? Is it reasonable to contract out the manufacturing of electronic products by an external entity?

　 　1. Focus on the product and sell it

　　When you outsource PCB assembly to an EMS provider, you are not directly involved in the PCB manufacturing process. The contractor is responsible for manufacturing, resolving potential issues, and bearing the necessary financial costs associated with it. This provides you with something that is never in sufficient supply in business - you can effectively utilize your time to pursue and strengthen other activities. You can allocate the saved time, effort, and financial resources to further product development, more effectively build a distribution network, and acquire new customers. All activities carried out in this context constitute added value, which has a positive impact on the activities of the entire company.

　　 2. Reduced investment, positive economic balance

　　The development of one's own business is not merely the physical growth of the organization, i.e., adding new floors to office buildings or new production halls. The development of a company is also the clever use of external specialized suppliers in certain cases. Therefore, whenever possible, OEMs can and should fully utilize the knowledge and expertise of their EMS providers. Contract manufacturing of electronic products is a cheap and economical option for employers. Why?

　　PCB assembly requires not only having the right equipment or advanced and modern PCBA technology. It also involves having appropriately qualified personnel who can handle it, which is precisely what excellent EMS providers possess. Therefore, they are able to offer periodic manufacturing and fixed production costs. This is also a better level of production management developed, enabling them to cope with factors such as sudden changes in material prices or short product lifecycles.

　　Outsourcing the assembly of printed circuit boards to an external company also means no need for relatively large investments (usually requiring long-term loans) to build your own fully functional production facility. Economies of scale exist here. The fixed costs of the production organization (which include building maintenance, employee training, machinery park, and the costs of supply chain organization) are spread across many clients, making it a cheaper option for employers compared to organizing and maintaining their own assembly. This significantly impacts the final cost of manufacturing products, thus reducing costs.

　 　3. Experienced and high-quality PCB assembly

　　Contract manufacturing of electronic products means more than just having the right machines. The process of producing high-quality products should be supervised by experts - those with extensive experience, access to new technologies, and knowledge of how to utilize them. These individuals have a real impact on the smooth running of the manufacturing process because they are able to react quickly and resolve potential problems, thus being able to control unforeseen situations.

　　EMS providers also guarantee high quality of the services provided, possessing:

　　ISO certificates. Compliance with standards such as quality management systems provides potential OEMs with assurance of the manufacturer's well-organized structure, which is also reflected in production processes, production process improvements, and ways of addressing encountered problems.

　　IPC standards - especially levels 2 and 3. These guidelines concern the acceptability of errors detected during visual quality control of electronic assembly processes. The standard distinguishes 3 levels (the higher the level number, the higher the requirements for the final quality of the manufacturing system), each with its own specific verification standards.

　 　4. Supply chain organization and management

　　Infrastructure, machinery park, and having the right employees to successfully complete PCB assembly is half the battle. Why? Manufacturing organization also means being responsible for supplying the necessary components, as well as regular and timely delivery. This also means bearing the full financial risk associated with sudden increases in material prices, or ensuring the fluidity of supply when encountering market shortages.

　　Therefore, this is one of the aspects that may dominate when deciding on contract manufacturing of electronic products by a third-party EMS provider. In this case, the contractor takes full responsibility for procuring all the elements necessary to execute the commissioned circuit - from selecting suppliers, to setting delivery schedules, to storage of these elements, and is responsible for managing the materials already possessed. Material management plays an important role in this process, which includes: managing materials, storing materials under appropriate conditions, for use when executing the next production batch for the client.

　 　5. Comprehensive electronic manufacturing services

　　Maintaining your own production facilities only makes sense if your need for SMT assembly is continuous and maintained at a level sufficient to sustain your own production. Otherwise, the production line will generate high fixed costs.

　　Therefore, if these types of fixed costs require too much financial effort, it is advisable to use an EMS provider. A contract electronics manufacturer specializing in sub-assembly manufacturing will be able to provide its client with comprehensive services - from PCBA to the final product - and achieve the required production volume. At the same time, he will possess the experience and skills necessary to build dedicated solutions for the client from scratch. Therefore, the entire work on your order will be carried out within one factory, without the need to engage other contractors to complete a small fraction of the necessary work.

　 　6. Flexibility

　　The completion time of PCB assembly is crucial for bringing new products to market or providing the right service for existing ones. To meet the end-recipient's expectations regarding product availability, it is necessary not only to skillfully plan the supply chain and production itself, but also to have strong planning mechanisms in place to allow for precise production planning and advance procurement of materials. Excellent EMS providers are able to provide these for their OEMs. They also have established business relationships with suppliers and have an in-depth understanding of market realities, aspects that can positively impact the material procurement prices for their clients.

　 　7. Higher assembly capacity

　　High assembly capacity means not only keeping your production capacity in sync with current demand. It also means having sufficient capacity to meet the needs of sudden temporary production increases due to increased demand.

　　An outsourced EMS provider has more production capacity and resources (including employees), and therefore can plan production in a more flexible and dynamic way. Therefore, increasing or prioritizing for a particular client within a given time frame is feasible and achieved to the client's satisfaction. This is a benefit for OEMs who commission their sub-assemblies - therefore, they do not lose the opportunity to sell more of their own products during periods of unexpected short-term increases in demand (production peaks) for selected products in their product range.

　　Contract manufacturing of electronic products makes sense. It saves economically calculated funds (space, equipment, personnel, etc.) and ensures seamless supply, even during short-term demand increases, without having to invest your own effort and time in handling additional needs. It is also the right solution when there is a lack of experienced SMT assembly experts who, besides doing repetitive work, are not able to solve emerging problems or provide custom solutions that may be needed.