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China & the Electronics Supply Chain: What's Next?It's the topic that keeps recurring, the never-ending conversation and the controversy that nobody knows how to put to rest. No matter your company's location in the world and its business interest, events taking place in China will eventually affect your operations -- if they haven't already. So it's time to get prepared. In the electronics industry, that view is now accepted by everyone, and it will be the focus of articles and discussions on EBN and Velocity, our supply chain-focused section, over the next month. At conferences globally, in boardrooms and government offices, economists, entrepreneurs, business executives, and political leaders are talking about China and its current and future impacts on their sales and profits, entire operations, local communities, job prospects, and even international peace. While the Asia-Pacific region continues to attract tremendous investment interest from the international community, China is the epicenter of those actions. It accounts for a majority of all foreign direct investment. China has in the last decade become the manufacturing location of choice for the electronics industry, making it home to the enterprises that produce products for many of the Western world's leading PC, smartphone, and other IT equipment. While observers focus on the manufacturing done in China for top-tier OEMs like Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, and Nokia, the support structures that facilitate these activities get much less attention. Yet China cannot play the critical role it does today in electronics manufacturing without the extended supply chain crew of component vendors, distributors, sub-assembly services providers, contract manufacturers, logistics companies, and, more recently, independent design firms. The future of China's engagement with the electronics industry will depend on not only international economic developments, such as the European Union's debt crisis and weak demand in North America, but also on how events in the country affect the supply chain and all of the companies -- local and foreign -- that play in the sector. China's role will also be influenced by laws, regulations, and consumer sentiments outside the region, especially in the markets (EU and US) that buy a majority of the products manufactured in the country. How will that future play out? First, expect China's role to change as the company moves up the food chain. While basic manufacturing is dominated today by China, the country is moving aggressively to increase its presence in higher-level, specialized, and fatter-margin products. It is also targeting functions such as electronics design currently dominated by Western companies. How will the West respond, and what will it mean for the electronics sector? How much more of the processes and services involved in electronics design chain and supply chain can be transferred to China, and what will the shift mean for the companies involved in the process currently? EBN will be focusing on these questions in the Velocity/Supply Chain section over the next month. We will feature articles that examine the current situation, how China has evolved, and what the future holds. Essentially, the question our writers, contributors, and readers will help answer is reflected in the headline, and I'd like to restate it here: What's the next logical evolution for China, now that the country has established itself as a dominant force in electronics manufacturing? To reiterate, what kind of electronics supply chain will emerge over the next five years with China's involvement, and what will the different components of that market -- contract manufacturing, distribution, semiconductor vendors, other component suppliers, and support services providers -- look like as China's role evolves in global manufacturing? It's a global phenomenon that will have an impact on all players, and how each emerges will depend partly on how well they understand that emerging future. Are you prepared? To participate fully in the discussion, please register here to receive the Velocity Report, EBN's monthly newsletter featuring articles on supply chain management in the electronics industry. |
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Webinars
Archived Webinars
Date: 4/30/2013
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
EBN Newswire
PHOENIX 1/16/2013
Avnet Embedded Opens Development Labs SAN FRANCISCO 1/8/2013
Vallee Appointed to Reserve Bank Board PHOENIX 12/13/2012
Avnet to Acquire Assets of USI Electronics PHOENIX 12/12/2012
Avnet EMA Adds Digi International SAN FRANCISCO 11/29/2012
UBM Tech Launches Partbuyer.com for Electronic Procurement PHOENIX 11/19/2012
Avnet Expert to Present at CSCO Summit 10/24/2012
Is Your Supply Chain Static or Dynamic? PHOENIX 10/22/2012
Avnet EM Holds SpeedWay Design Workshops PHOENIX 10/16/2012
Avnet EMA Launches Technical Seminars PHOENIX 9/26/2012
Avnet Express Appoints Exec PHOENIX 9/19/2012
Avnet and Triad Team Up in Americas PHOENIX 9/12/2012
Avnet Recognized by InformationWeek Avnet Video Resources
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