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Next Entries »What is ODM?
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008The acronym ODM remains a bit elusive for many people I encounter. ODM is Original Design Manufacturer (or manufacturing). The similar acronym OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer, seems to be well understood by most people. An OEM is a company that manufactures its own products for sale under its own brand names. OEMs may manufacture their [...]
What is Price Masking?
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007What is price masking and who benefits from it? To answer these questions, let’s start by exploring the contract manufacturer’s (CM’s) supply chain practices. Because of their size, volumes, and component spends, large CMs wield considerable power in negotiations with their component suppliers. This power is often translated into special pricing for the CM. When [...]
BOM Intelligence
Thursday, November 8th, 2007One of the challenges that faces OEM buyers of manufacturing services (electronic, pharmaceutical, etc.) is getting the best price from their contract manufacturer (CM). The price from the CM is composed of many different elements including: Component or raw material cost (also know as Bill of Materials, BOM, or ingredients) Overhead Labor General & administrative [...]
Make or Buy?
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Many ideas for new products by would-be entrepreneurs never get off the drawing board because of the real or perceived cost of manufacturing. When we get our new design for a portable battery-powered cheese slicer all fleshed out, we begin thinking about how we will manufacture it and what it will cost. The fundamental question [...]
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