New X-ray Inspection Service

Now OEMs can 'look behind the veil' and compare how CMs price their services in various global regions

Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI) has announced a new service for OEM clients who want to be more effective in leveraging their global supply chains. The TFI Global Pricing Service (GPS), designed by Senior Consultant Charlie Barnhart, is structured in two forms to give OEM clients both pre-quotation estimates and post-quotation analysis - offering an objective view of outsourcing services costs and benefits. The service is based on TFI's popular Global Pricing Workshop methodology, grounded by hundreds of current case studies and backed by Barnhart's decades of industry experience.

"In virtually every EMS industry survey we have conducted during the past 10 years, 'pricing' has been listed as one of the top five concerns of OEMs," noted Pamela Gordon, president of Technology Forecasters Inc. "Hundreds of our clients have found Charlie Barnhart's Global Pricing Workshop to be tremendously helpful, saving millions of dollars and often preventing serious missteps."  But now, she explains, clients are demanding more hands-on help. "This service is a solution for OEMs wanting more direct support for their immediate outsourcing decisions, and for contract manufacturers wanting 'sanity checks' on their own price competitiveness."

"To address the pricing pressures coming from their OEM clients, EMS companies have expanded their operating footprints to include capabilities in virtually every low-cost geography around the world," Barnhart explained. "While the cost of labor is an important factor in assessing these global alternatives, it is only one element of pricing and historically has been a poor indicator of 'total cost of ownership.' Using this service gives clients rational understanding of all the dynamics at play in 'total cost of ownership."

The two forms of the new service include a pre-quote estimate and post-quote analysis. For the pre-quote estimate, the OEM receives:

• An estimate of what a product or assembly would cost an EMS or ODM to produce, from a global perspective (up to 3 geographies)
• An estimate of what selling price they should expect to see from an EMS or ODM supplier for that assembly
• A detailed estimate of how OEM requirements and expectations impact cost and selling price, and how these requirements and expectations align with industry norms
• Insights from hundreds of current case-studies on potential pitfalls and opportunities the OEM should be aware of prior to initiating an RFQ

The post-quote analysis includes:

• A 'tear-down' analysis of the quotation received by the OEM, and translation into objective pricing terminology (up to 3 geographies)
• Direct insight into what the EMS or ODM used as their probable cost basis and by what method (and how much) actual mark-up was applied.
• A detailed estimate of how OEM requirements and expectations impact cost and selling price, and how these requirements and expectations align with industry norms
• Insights from hundreds of GPW case-studies on how competitive the quotation is and any potential pitfalls and opportunities the OEM should be aware of prior to accepting the quotation

TFI Quarterly Forum members receive a special discount on the Global Pricing Service; those clients who have attended Global Pricing Workshops in the past also are eligible for special discounts.

For more information about TFI's new Global Pricing Service, contact Charlie Barnhart at cbarnhart@techforecasters.com

For more information about TFI's Quarterly Forum for Electronics Manufacturing Outsourcing and Supply Chain, go to: https://secure.techforecasters.com/join_forum.html, or contact Jennifer Read at 1-623-293-6985. Jread@techforecasters.com