New Member Profile: Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc.

Too often electronics outsourcing relationships begin with great expectations only to end in frustration because of a mismatch between customer requirements and contract manufacturer capabilities.

For the first time, relief is in sight. Original equipment manufacturers now have a new resource to help develop successful electronics outsourcing programs.

Contract Manufacturing Consultants (CMC) was incorporated in April to assist original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) in the outsourcing of printed circuit board and end-product assemblies. The Bellevue firm, founded by Robert G. Freid, is the first and only one of its kind to specialize in offering comprehensive research and implementation assistance that the industry has long needed.

"Often companies want to consider change in electronics outsourcing strategy but they don't have the time and expertise on staff to identify and evaluate options," Freid said. "That's where we can help by providing full time expert assistance, working independently or as a part of their project team."

Freid has over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales and engineering program management. Prior to founding CMC, he was new business development manager for Solectron Washington, a leading international electronics outsourcing manufacturer. While at Solectron, he set new account qualification criteria, negotiated multiyear electronics outsourcing agreements, and won customer awards for successful program ramp-ups.

Freid began his career as a manufacturing engineer with the General Electric Company. After earning a MBA, he joined McKinsey & Company as a general management consultant and worked as an advisor to major corporations on manufacturing strategy and operating issues. He also served as marketing executive with a fast growing electronics equipment company, Asyst Technologies of Milpitas, CA.

Freid received a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering and operations research from Berkeley and a master's degree in business administration from Stanford.

Key electronics outsourcing issues addressed by CMC in its work with OEM’s include determining what and when to outsource, who to outsource to, what to pay, what services to expect, and how to organize for maximum performance. At the core of these services is a proprietary cost and pricing model developed exclusively for use with CMC clients.

Our electronics assembly cost benchmarking model is activity-based and utilizes our clients own product, process, test and support requirements as key inputs. With these and other built-in parameters, it can be reliably used to estimate a contract manufacturer's PCB assembly and end-product production costs, overhead costs, likely pricing and profitability, Freid said.

CMC can quickly answer a wide variety of what-it questions with their electronics outsourcing cost benchmarking model, such as how costs might shift as volume and mix change, and contract manufacturer cost and pricing in the USA, Mexico, China, India and in other key locations. The model can also be used to assess pricing proposals and longer-term pricing viability.

Freid says that considerable effort will be spent on outsouring due diligence of key capabilities and true performance, at contract manufactures, at their customers and with other knowledgeable industry sources. Once an electronics outsourcing supplier is selected, the CMC consultant will then assist in creating manufacturing agreements and support processes that will be a win for both parties.

"Our goal is to help develop electronics outsourcing programs that give our clients a distinct competitive advantage in their industry," Freid said. "Our work will typically take about four months to complete, and we need to begin at least six months prior to the client's planned first-article delivery."

May / June 1999
Reprinted With Permission