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70 SMT Magazine • October 2014 If your company agrees with W. Edwards Deming's 14 points for management (Table 2) then following the approach of sourcing from a fabless PCB provider comes only as a natural result. In the 1950s, Deming had major impact on the manufacturing and business world in Japan. Many of his 14 points are embedded in the con- cept and goals of sourcing through a credible fabless PCB provider. Since a fabless PCB provider has everything necessary to produce PCBs but a factory, he will concentrate 100% on all supporting tasks with Deming's 14 points in mind. Using a fabless PCB provider as your single point of purchase and project manager for all PCB supply related tasks (quality, logistics, fac- tory audits, technology scout, even PCB educa- tion); you are able to turn a supplier relation- ship into a value creating long-term learning relationship. The elimination of multiple and repetitive processes (e.g., scouting for suppliers, contract negotiations with each and every supplier, mul- tiple supplier management, implementing stan- dardized quality requirements across all suppli- ers) in your organization is another building block to keep your own SCM organizations lean and focused on core competencies. Reduce internal processes and use bundled sourcing through a credible fabless PCB provider. cost consideration The reactive PCB supply chain manager be- longs to yesterday. Today, he proactively man- ages the strategic supply chain, or more precise- ly the total cost of ownership (TCO), as shown in Figure 3. The analysis of customer requirements pro- vides the basis for determining the cost drivers associated with purchasing the product and ser- vice. The supply chain manager has the right to expect product and services of the "right qual- ity, from the right supplier, in the right quan- tity, at the right time, and at the right price." But what is the most and least important factor of all the expected "rights"? A value stream mapping exercise comes to the rescue as it identifies the cost drivers to deliver product and services. Once identified what is most and least important, the SCM must work closely with the PCB provider to shape a TCO model for its individual case and eliminate non-value added activities. We need to understand that what is regarded as value- added can be different under various circum - stances. The author's publication "PCBs from Asia Traded by Western PCB Manufacturer" proves this. The customer, "PCB manufacturer," sourc- ing from a fabless PCB provider, can have a very different TCO model than, for example, an EMS supplier. The PCB manufacturer may not want the product qualification (e.g., climate cham- ber, temp cycling tests) to be done by the PCB provider. Since he is in a similar business as the fabless PCB provider, he might want to use his own test lab and does not require this service from the fabless PCB provider. A successful supply chain manager knows how to find a trustworthy PCB supply partner who offers the most flexible solutions to meet the ever-changing customer requirements. He understands the trend that it's not the big that eat the small, but it's the fast that eats the slow. Table 2. ArTiCLE smart Pcb sOurcing cOncePts continues