3 Ways to Avoid Partnering with an Unreliable OEM

OEM services often partner up with EMS providers to mass-produce pieces of equipment or entirely new products to be introduced in a market. Here’s how an EMS supplier can make sure they avoid partnering with an unreliable OEM.

Understand Your Needs

The very first thing you’ll need to think of when looking for OEM leads to work with is to realize what your requirements are. The first thing you want to ask yourself is whether you want to work with an OEM or an ODM. While many current OEMs technically provide both the services of an OEM and an ODM, you should still know which services you wish to avail.

An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) will be creating individual equipment pieces or parts that can be used with other products or are used in the production of entirely different products. ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) work with EMS suppliers to create custom products that can be branded and sold by the company that commissioned the product creation. This difference can be important in helping you ensure you find the right service to partner up with.

Matching Capabilities and Expertise

Once you’ve decided what type of service you need, try and look into the expertise offered by the OEMs you’re working with. Many OEMs, especially ones that are newer to the market, will depend on the EMS provider to handle just about everything, from the product re-design to its testing, to acquiring raw material, and finally shipping it out. While this isn’t a bad thing, just make sure you can offer the services the partnering OEM requires from you.

More experienced OEMs will often have conducted a bit of troubleshooting before reaching out to EMS providers. Try and work with a company that can realistically benefit from your services and not just an organization looking to dump work on their EMS partners.

Communication Resources & Track Record

Make sure that you have access to a project manager on the OEM’s end and dedicate a resource from your end to handle communications with them. More often than not, miscommunications and misunderstandings can lead to large-scale issues in production. Constant and clear communication is necessary for production to go smoothly. Try and incorporate members of the two companies into a single team for clearer discussions and easier and quicker communication.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask the OEMs for past case studies or references of past clients to see what their track record looks like. Was working with them a pleasant experience for their other partners, or was it a consistent struggle? Work that out before committing to a partnership.

Finding good OEM leads has now become easier. Our Find an EMS service helps EMS suppliers connect with OEM providers across North America. You can set up a profile and connect with several different local OEMs and review their project details. Contact our team to get started.