Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1542458
30 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2026 These trends, while noted by industry research, have not yet translated into a widespread "data productization" practice, leaving a competitive gap that forward-thinking EMS providers can exploit. The Strategic Opportunity Data productization refers to transforming internal operational data—such as sensor feeds, inspec- tion logs, test results, production parameters, and supply chain records—into structured, commercial assets that customers can utilize as services, APIs, or analytics subscriptions. It differs from internal dashboards in that it is customer-focused, action- able, and monetizable. Though many EMS leaders invest in automation and MES, few have built the organizational, tech- nical, and commercial capabilities to sell data as a service. One reason is that EMS culture and capa- bility are generally operations-centric rather than market-centric. Additionally, consider that manu- facturing data is often siloed in disparate systems and that technical barriers have hindered the stan- dardization and packaging of analytics for external use. Yet, when done correctly, these capabilities deliver measurable ROI for both the EMS provider and the OEM customer. What Data Productization Looks Like in Practice Obviously, the analytics must consider the prod- uct, the customer's particular appetite for data, and how best to deliver it to their system. • Rather than just supplying static defect reports, you can offer a predictive qual- ity score as a service, using historical AOI/ SPI/ICT data and machine learning models to forecast defect risk on future builds. This type of insight helps OEM quality teams pre- empt issues, including steps such as product redesign, which reduces lifecycle warranty costs over the long term. • Consider a weekly "quality risk forecast" for each product you build. If your historical data indicates that there may be failures this week, inform your customer about the steps you plan to take to prevent the failures. • Also helpful are process deviation alerts, such as an alert when the AOI detects solder joint issues or an unusually high number of issues within a component lot. While it might be tempting to clean up the data so that facility-specific issues aren't reported back to the OEM, resist the urge. The symptom might be that the assembly equipment is struggling, but the solution might be in a slight design tweak to increase manufacturability. APIs for OEM Systems Integration and Traceability Rather than delivering PDFs, your data products should include machine-readable APIs that inte- grate with customer PLM, ERP, and quality sys- tems. Traceability data is required for high-reli- ability industries like medical, aerospace, and automotive. So, by structuring build history, envi- ronmental compliance, and test results into acces- sible APIs, EMS firms can transform traceability from a requirement into a service that OEMs can embed in their product development systems. The value-add, of course, is allowing the customer to query the data for themselves. While deviation alerts offer feedback in real time, historical yield and defect pattern datasets can be turned into DFM advisory reports that help OEMs optimize designs for manufacturability. This trans- lates your experience as an EMS into decision-sup- port products for OEM engineering teams. Finally, by analyzing lead-time variability, price trends, and failure rates tied to component lots, EMS providers can help OEMs plan procurement more precisely, identify substitutes early, and avoid