Viewing the electronic manufacturing services you work with as a your consultant and partner, not just another vendor.
To those in need of a great EMS provider, an EMS should not be thought of as a vendor. Instead, try viewing them as your consultant and partner.
The gray area in your business relationship with an EMS can and should become very, very thin. Customers should allow the curtains to be drawn and allow the EMS provider to have first-hand knowledge of your needs, so they bring their knowledge and skills to the table. They should be anxious to do it since it will allow the process to be more effective and efficient! If you are working with an EMS provider that doesn’t seem excited about having a close working relationship with you, you are with the wrong company.
Start with Communication
One of the keys to any successful partnership is communication. Make sure everyone is in the loop! When you have a product team meeting, is there any rationale to leave out any team member? Even if they are not in the critical chain for the discussion for that particular meeting, having situational awareness of the project and each team member’s responsibility and progress is invaluable. Don’t exclude your EMS provider from that information. The EMS provider wants to know what your concerns will be so they can contribute to the overall planning and support your product’s evolution. Remember, you hired them or are hiring them because of their expertise in the EMS industry.
Developing Your Partnership Together with Communication
One of our customers, a producer of antimicrobial lighting who we have been with from the infancy of their product line stated, “I always appreciate it when Dave’s team makes comments on how to improve or what aspects of a PCB design effect the ability to produce it efficiently.” Ask your EMS what their commitment is and will be to the team. Ask simple, broad questions such as:
- Will they attend a weekly or bi-weekly meeting?
- How do you think you might help us in this project?
Remember, I am in sales, and I want to obtain and keep customers by making sure they are satisfied with our work. Ask me this question and I will be excited to answer it because you are giving me a chance to be a partner and excel instead of just providing parts.
To read about how we partner with clients visit our case studies page