IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 44 WINTER 2025 100 attendees from more than 70 EMS companies at Regional Roundtables. We have not allowed "outsiders"—participants need to be directly involved in operating EMS organizations—and most who attend are at a senior level of their organization. The Roundtables typically run from 4–8 p.m. We have dinner and introductions, and then I share EMS industry demographics and some other unique supply chain and financial EMS industry data. Conversations often go later than 8 p.m. because our groups are deep in conversation around important topics. The Roundtables share thoughts around a predetermined theme, such as leveling up, indus- try KPIs, and benchmarking. How- ever, the group may not actually follow the given theme. I certainly look for opportunities to share my own industry experience but also work to facilitate the group so that everyone is engaged. Over- all, I want the Roundtables to be participant-driven and it's okay if the group gravitates toward a totally different topic than what I had planned. From my perspective, no two Roundtables have ever followed the same path, even if the initial topics are intended to be the same. There are always enough common EMS provider industry challenges—most often about talent, software tools, technology development, supply chain, or customer acquisition—that the group can share valuable insights without getting into specifics that may create discomfort. Partici- pants really seem to share what is on their minds, and there is a spirit of "coopetition," which always seems to enable appropriate con- versations regardless of the topic being discussed. Companies of all sizes attend the Rountables, and I like that because it brings different per- spectives on any topic. While most attendees are from relatively small companies, we've also seen partic- ipation from a higher proportion of $100 million and above, com- pared to the overall EMS industry. As we conclude each Roundta- ble, I ask participants about the value of the event. Consistently, they say that it is time well spent. In most cases, attendees leave with at least one item they want to explore to help their own busi- nesses when they return to their operation. In regions where we have held a second Roundtable, more than 80% of the original attendees chose to participate again. The Roundtables benefit IPC as well. We are not there to "sell" IPC services, but we seize the oppor- tunity to expose participants—IPC members or not—to the types of services and support that IPC pro- vides. As a result, IPC has gained many memberships, training sub- scriptions, standards purchases, and certification requests from participants as a direct result of the Roundtables. It has also been a great opportunity to hear from the "voices of the EMS industry," which I share with IPC leadership to help form future programs and support. We have also found that the Regional Roundtables have been a great introduction to the annual EMS Leadership Summit at IPC APEX EXPO. Approximately half of the participants at the six regional Breakdown of roundtable participants by size of company. Mark Wolfe