10 Requirements of an EMS Company for An Initial Quote

As an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), even if you’re looking for an informal or indicative quote from an Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider, you still need to provide them with details about your product so they can give you an accurate estimate of how much their EMS manufacturing services will cost.

Here’s a detailed description of the information you need to present to an EMS provider when you ask them for an initial quote.

The Necessary Information An EMS Provider Can’t Do Without

Sometimes OEMs are only looking for a ballpark figure or a rough estimated quote that they can take back to their team. You need to assure an EMS provider that your query is real and genuine so they can help expedite the process.

For such an indicative query, there are three main pieces of information that an EMS provider needs to have. These pieces of information include:

1. The type of product you want to build.
2. The materials that will be needed to build this product.
3. The amount of time it will take to assemble, test, and pack this product.

The EMS provider will use this information to calculate how much money they will spend on labor and materials and their profit margins before giving you an estimated price of your product per unit.

However, this basic information is not enough for an EMS provider to give you an accurate quote, and they need more detailed answers so they can estimate their price and come up with the right budget and projections.

The Detailed Information You Should Offer an EMS Provider

If you don’t provide a potential EMS partner with more information than just the bare bones about your product, they will rely on guesswork to give you an initial quote.

Suppose they have to estimate the extent of the manufacturing services you want to outsource to them or how complex your project is. In that case, the information they provide will be incorrect and will end up causing delays and frustration for both the OEM and the EMS provider.

Here are some of the additional details you should give an EMS provider:

1. The full scope of the project, such as the amount of time it will take and the different services you will require such as assembly, testing, logistics, packing, shipping, etc.
2. The number of products you will require over the coming year, including the quantity of the daily, weekly, and monthly batch and the call-off amounts.
3. Which countries you will ship your product to.
4. What lead-time you are going to offer to the end-user.
5. What the delivery expectation of the end-user is, and whether it might change later on.
6. How much forward visibility you can provide, and the realistic quantity of firm order you can sign up for.
7. What the stability of the product design is, and whether up-to-date build and test data are available.

Are you searching for the right EMS partner for your product? Contact us at Find an EMS, and we’ll connect you with EMS providers who provide what you’re looking for, such as electronic contract manufacturing services, electronics assembly services, electronics design services, and more.