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70 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 Interview by Edy Yu I-CONNECT007 The services offered by IPC Validation Ser- vices include comprehensive technical con- sulting, SGA standard gap analysis, the qual- ified products list (QPL), and the qualified manufacturers list (QML). Currently, QML is reported to be the most frequently used IPC validation service aimed at offering validation service at product and business levels. The QML audit process not only normalizes man- ufacturing process, reduces quality problems, and lowers audition-related costs, but it also develops talent within the enterprise to ensure that standards are implemented accurately. In this article, I discuss QML validation with a Taiwanese company that has successfully gone through the process. Headquartered in Taipei, ASKEY Technol- ogy (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd. was founded in 2001 as a subsidiary of ASUS. It is specialized in manufacturing and development of advanced electronic network communication products covering broadband network communication products, xDSL, cable modem, VoIP, set-top box, PDT, as well as promising products, such as GPON, GPS, vehicle-mounted products, intelligent BUS stations, and other advanced, integrated products. ASKEY initiated an IPC QML validation process in 2014 and success- fully passed the initial audit of Class 2 in June 2015. Now included in the IPC trusted sources list and ranked 12 th worldwide and top three in mainland China (revenue), ASKEY plans to pass Class 3 validation in 2020 (Figure 1). The PCB007 China team paid a visit to the ASKEY plant in Wujiang, Jiangsu, to learn more about their QML process. In this inter- view with Qixian Zhang, vice GM of ASKEY's Electronics Product Quality Assurance Depart- ment, he discusses what QML means to ASKEY and the electronics industry as a whole. Edy Yu: Mr. Zhang, thank you for the chance to conduct this interview. Why did you choose to pursue the QML system? Case Study: Example of ASKEY Applying QML Validation