Source: August Electronics
Agricultural technologies are of particular interest to a new category of OEMs. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, judicious application of agricultural technology can increase global crop production by up to 67 percent by 2050 and reduce the price of food significantly due to increased crop productivity.
There is a rising demand for precision agriculture technology to assure best quality, quantity and financial returns on crops. Simultaneously, a decrease in the cost of remote sensors coupled with advances in cloud-computing technology, and smart access devices are making precision agriculture more cost-effective for farmers.
Farming and ranching have evolved from its labour-intensive models into sophisticated business. There are GPS-controlled harvesting and tilling equipment as well as precision computerized facility control systems.
Farmers need equipment solutions that help them stay competitive in the modern agricultural environment. Innovation in the agricultural industry is being driven by influences from other industries. Some examples are:
Perception and sensing technologies that help farmers interpret the external environment and make more informed decisions. Connectivity technologies which enables equipment to easily communicate large amounts of data to operators and other machines.
- Custom cable-builds.
- Custom wiring harnesses for OEM machinery and controllers
- Soil moisture sensors and cables
- Temperature and pressure sensors
- Fan control units
- Irrigation controllers
- Insect detection systems
- Alarm systems
- Antennas and receiver
How August Electronics can help
Our manufacturing knowledge about agricultural industrial technologies can inform your plans and add value to smart farm ecosystems. Considering the outdoor nature of most agricultural equipment, we take care to provide product solutions that are built to withstand severe weather, harsh chemicals, and tough field conditions.
Outsourcing Electronics Manufacturing: A Practical Guide for OEMs
Your electronics design team did the hard part. You got the product working, proved demand, and figured out how to build it in-house well enough to ship consistently. But now, production is eating your week.
One build needs a last-minute parts swap because something is backordered. Another fails for a reason nobody can explain or reproduce. Engineering is stuck troubleshooting instead of improving the next revision, and your operations team is juggling spreadsheets, suppliers, and workarounds.
Outsourcing electronics manufacturing is a way for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to regain control. Not by handing the job to a random factory, but by moving board and system builds to an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) partner that can source raw materials, assemble consistently, validate quality, and ship finished products while your team stays focused on the electronic device itself. This guide breaks down what outsourcing really includes, why OEMs choose onshore manufacturing, and how to evaluate options without getting burned.
What Outsourcing Electronics Manufacturing Actually Means
Outsourcing electronics manufacturing means partnering with a manufacturer to take on some or all of the work required to build your product consistently at scale. Instead of your internal team running every build step, you transfer defined responsibilities to a partner with established processes, proper electronic equipment, and proven quality controls.
For OEMs, outsourcing usually includes a mix of services based on where you want to stay hands-on:
- Procurement and sourcing support: Managing purchasing, alternatives, lead times, and availability so builds do not get replanned every week.
- PCB assembly: Building printed circuit boards at production quality with repeatable processes across runs.
- System and box build assembly: Integrating boards into enclosures, adding mechanical parts, wiring, labelling, and final assembly steps.
- Testing and inspection: Confirming boards and systems meet requirements before shipment, with coverage matched to your risk and compliance needs.
- Outbound logistics and fulfillment: Packaging, documentation, and shipping to customers, distribution, or internal locations.
- Repair, refurbishment, and sustainment: Supporting the product after launch, handling returns, and keeping electronics production lines stable as components change.
Some OEMs only outsource production of board builds. Others hand off end-to-end production from components through finished systems. The point is to achieve a consistent output without relying on your engineering team as the production safety net.
Why OEMs Outsource Electronics Manufacturing
Most OEMs do not outsource because they cannot build a product. They outsource because building it consistently starts to compete with the business’s core competencies.
Common triggers include:
Production problems interrupt engineering
When every build has a new issue, engineering becomes the default escalation path. That slows revisions, feature work, and new product development.
Growth outpaces your people and space
Early volumes can work on a bench or a small line. As orders increase, production starts depending on overtime, bottlenecked stations, and constant reprioritization.
Parts availability forces constant replanning
Backorders and long lead times can turn every run into a sourcing scramble. Under pressure, substitutions happen late and build quality changes from one batch to the next.
Repeatability becomes a challenge
A unit that works once is not the same as a unit that builds the same way every time. As volume increases, variations in process, handling, and components manifest as intermittent failures, rework, and scrap.
Customers want more than you can provide
As products mature or head into regulated or harsh environments, customer requirements often expand to include documentation, inspection results, and test evidence.
The unplanned work starts costing more than the build
Expediting, rework, extra inspections, and coordination across suppliers can rack up manufacturing costs and quietly consume the budget. Outsourcing becomes attractive when the overhead starts to outweigh the benefits of keeping everything internal.
