Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE I I-CONNECT007 119 by Shawn DuBravac, IPC chief economist. Electronics manufacturers could expect "headwinds and tailwinds" to impact them in the coming year, DuBravac told listeners, as well as flat to modest growth in the U.S. and flat to down growth in Europe. While the forecast in Asia is still shrouded in uncer- tainty, DuBravac said that prospects there are looking better following China's decision to relax its Zero-COVID policy. One key message was to expect lead times to nor- malize sometime over summer 2023, though this will not be a return to pre- pandemic norms; these new, longer lead times will benefit industry by allowing for longer planning times and new methods for build- ing products, a develop- ment that was influenced by growth in the electrification, automotive, smart power, and edge computing sec- tors. Additionally, this normalization will see customers pushing back on deposit agree- ments and other terms negotiated during the recent supply chain crunch. The most action-inspiring speech of the day by far was given by Cory Blaylock of Lockheed Martin, who shared how she single-handedly developed a workforce development pro- gram to source and train local talent. [Read more about Cory's effort on page 174] These efforts and concepts were echoed by fel- low panelist Debie Vorwald of Collins Aero- space who, as part of the follow-up round- table, expressed the sentiment of the day as "'coopetition' to proactively prepare for the coming shortage." In more than 60% of post- event surveys, attendees said that research- ing IPC training resources, workforce devel- opment funding opportunities, or working with local educational institutions would be priorities for them and/or their companies to prepare for such future challenges. Panelists on cybersecurity best practices vs. CMMC shared that CMMC requirements are popping up in contracts beyond the Department of Defense. Joaquin Hernandez of Empowered IT Solutions, Allen Anderson of F&B Law Firm, and Vijay Takanti of Exostar agreed that from software, legal, and implementation per- spectives that key strate- gies to reduce risk include minimizing the amount of controlled unclassified information (CUI) data you agree to collect, minimizing CUI data access, and speci- fying what constitutes CUI in your contracts. Additional panels and speakers focused on con- tinuous improvement, sustainability, a recap of the North American EMS market, and peer idea sharing. With about half of the group attending for the first time, everyone said they would recommend the meeting to a colleague—a good sign for the meeting's goal of bringing future leaders into the conversation. The summit was followed by an EMS Council Steering Committee meeting on Tuesday to begin planning for 2024 and to discuss other tools, research, and issues of importance to EMS providers and contract manufacturers. IPC is grateful to the EMS Council Steering Committee for its ongoing leadership and support in building networking opportuni- ties, education, and business tools for the EMS community. S&T Tracy Riggan is senior director of business development, Solutions at IPC. Tracy Riggan