Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1469343
JUNE 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 9 Still, things could go too far, give too much away. When it did, talk turned to spiteful rhi- nectomies. at seems to have been a persistent think- ing pattern in business over the past few years. In a marketplace with compressed margins, lots of competitors, and custom- ers demanding tight schedules and challeng- ing builds, the idea has been to keep all the business to yourself. Aer all, you worked hard for that sale. But that was then; this is now. Demand for electronics continues to be high; customer requirements can be challenging to our skill set. When we can do a fair portion of the work, but not all of it, instead of turning the job away, many are turning to collaboration. is idea drove the design of our cover this month. e main result can oen be built up from numer- ous other constituent parts. Our product port- folio, like the largest pencil, may be a mini sup- ply chain in and of itself—if we're collaborating effectively, that is. When we first started planning this issue, we used the word "partnership" in our work- ing title. Partnership certainly is one way to collaborate. Creating close working relation- ships with manufacturing specialists who can extend your capabilities for your customers is one obvious way to collaborate. But there are others. Collaboration can also look like proactive communication with customers as well as vendors, as showcased by our interview with Dan Beaulieu and representatives from fabri- cators and a material supplier. e conversa- tion focuses on an entire assembly project and high-level collaboration ideas. Columnist Emmalee Gagnon makes the point that collaboration can be an internal resource management exercise as well. Col- laboration can also take the form of corpo- rate responsibility, as ICAPE's Lea Maurel suggests. She writes, "A 2015 Nielsen survey showed that more than 50% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service if the company prioritizes sustainability. It's a real indicator that consumers are asking more of companies. Companies should not just exist to make a profit but should give back to society and have a positive impact." at process of customers asking more of their vendors is an open invitation to collabo- rate with customers to grow into their needs, as well as an opportunity to develop partner- ships. Of course, those same customers tend to link environmental safety to sustainabil- ity. Hazardous chemicals and conflict-free mineral sources, therefore, play into corpo- rate responsibility as well. In this issue, we step even further up the supply chain to get a take on the mineral/mining dichotomy. It's worthwhile to remember that what we spec- ify in our designs propagates as a demand all the way back to the mines digging up the ore to make the metals we consume. We provide an overview on the market dynamics from Noelle Lovern, as well as a compelling inter- view with mining CEO Shaun Dykes. In an industry like ours, where 90-day forecasts are oen considered "strategic," it's mind-bend- ing to consider that mining companies fore- cast out 20 years or more, and that our indus- try demands are a small part of their overall forecasting. Read our interview with Dykes to learn more about the how and why. As always, our magazines are the culmina- tion of collaboration with you, our readers. We strive to help advance the conversations we're having within our industry. Your feed- back and your suggestions for meaningful top- ics help advance the conversation as well. We love hearing from you. SMT007 Nolan Johnson is managing editor of SMT007 Magazine. Nolan brings 30 years of career experience focused almost entirely on electronics design and manufacturing. To contact Johnson, click here.