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5 Challenges for OEMs with Legacy Products

Unlike companies who move all at once from one product generation to the next, many OEMs base their value and reputation on customizing their product offerings to various clients and applications. It’s in their DNA to tweak and expand designs to deliver exactly what their customers need.

This strategy can be very effective, but can come with a natural consequence: a wide portfolio of legacy products that require active support for many years.

Fortunately, the right contract manufacturing partner can help meet the challenges that come with legacy products. Here are some examples of some of those challenges.

Learn More About RBB at PCB Carolina 2019!

Want to learn a little more about RBB? Visit us at PCB Carolina 2019!

On NOVEMBER 13th, the RBB team will be at PCB Carolina 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

What Can I Do To Help Reduce Production Cost and Lead Time in my PCB Assembly?

Design for Manufacturability

Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is the process of designing your product so that it can be produced easily and quickly. A few adjustments can help you get your new product to market before your competition, and help you meet your delivery schedules! The fewer steps in the electronics manufacturing process means less time between ordering and receiving your product. 

“High-Mix, Low-Volume” and “Small Batch” are NOT the Same Thing

In the EMS industry, the term high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) refers to CMs or OEMs who change over production between assemblies and processes much more often than their low-mix, high-volume (LMHV) counterparts. HMLV shops convert their lines to different assemblies rapidly (hours or minutes) and frequently (several shifts or days). Note that the opportunity for error rises as batch size decreases.

By contrast, LMHV production runs can last weeks or even months between change overs. It’s a different animal altogether.

RBB builds many hundreds of unique assemblies annually and most weeks introduces multiple new assemblies. It's rare that RBB runs a batch large enough to consume an entire shift of time, much less a few shifts!

Why Choose Cycle Count Inventory Auditing Over an Annual Inventory Count?

Do you spend days tallying parts during an annual inventory count? Are you shutting down your shop floor for days just to get decent counts? If so, there's an alternative inventory management method that will eliminate the need to shut down production and also deliver better results.

This alternative method is known as cycle counting, and whether you’re a global manufacturer or a privately held company, you may stand to benefit from it. In fact, at RBB we've experienced numerous benefits since we've started to cycle count inventory. Most Importantly, cycle count allows RBB to provide more reliable scheduling and delivery to our clients.

In Electronic Assembly Manufacturing it's Not You, it's Your Small Batches

RBB’s whitepaper on how small batch electronics affects the OEM-CM relationship

Very often OEM’s struggle to effectively manage large portfolios of small batches of custom electronic assemblies. That’s why I tackled the topic in the Whitepaper, “Market Dynamics facing OEM’s with Large Portfolios of Ongoing Small Batches.”

Who is RBB Systems? Watch our 2015 Quick Summary Video to Find Out

For over 40 years, RBB has existed to move heaven and earth to get our recurring small batch customers what they need, when they need it.

Business Systems & Really Great Chili: Part 2

Business Systems & Really Great Chili: Part 1

On last Wednesday’s blog, I outlined the similarities between really strong business systems and really great chili. (For those of you who missed the post, find my world famous chili recipe here.) Today, I focus on how to build out really great business system.

Business Systems & Really Great Chili: A 3-Part Series Kick-Off

I don’t have the recipe for “The World’s Best Business System” but I can tell you that there are some similarities between business systems and really great chili.

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