Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1518339
34 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2024 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 At a strategic level, adding box-building ser- vices makes sense for customer loyalty. But is it really that simple? Jon Schmitz, who manages customer engagement at RiverSide Integrated Solutions, talks about what it really takes to be successful in offering EMS and final assembly services under the same company banner. Nolan Johnson: Jon, "box build" could mean anything from taking the next step into a larger subassembly to delivering a finished good or even drop shipping from the EMS house. Where does RiverSide Integrated Solutions fit? Jon Schmitz: In our arena, we do it all. We started with printed circuit board assembly; all our standard EMS provider business is printed circuit board assembly. en we moved up to product assembly work, and that's where box build comes in. It may mean putting a cir- cuit board assembly into a housing, like you described, which is a subassembly for our end customer. We send those completed subassem- blies to an end customer, which turns it into the finished product. We also have many cases of completing the entire product and shipping it directly into the field. It could be straight to a dealer, or an end consumer. What are some examples of compelling events, trigger events, or crises for a customer that might cause them to go deeper into box-build services with you? We start with a customer's need, and ulti- mately, we offer three main solutions to their needs. First, we have certain customers that want to be virtual. ey are not interested in doing any manufacturing themselves and want a manufacturer to do everything for them. at is one of the main reasons we started doing Determining the Value-add of Box Build