{"id":980,"date":"2020-02-19T09:23:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T14:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/siemens-opcenter\/?p=980"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:58:27","slug":"the-3-pillars-for-the-electronics-manufacturing-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/the-3-pillars-for-the-electronics-manufacturing-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Pillars of Electronics Manufacturing for the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The dramatic growth in electronics over the last decade has caused a few trends to emerge<\/a>. Electronics has become\u00a0personal<\/em><\/strong>, driving companies to figure out how they can move from single part numbers in mass production to flexible, custom products manufactured in small lot sizes. With people increasingly on the go, they want to be able to take their electronics\u00a0anywhere<\/em><\/strong> and to do more<\/em><\/strong> with their devices. We are seeing the explosive growth of smaller products with expanding features and functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronics are permeating every aspect of our lives, including products from mature industries such as white goods, or heavy consumer durables. A white goods company<\/em><\/strong> in China described how electronics was completely changing their industry, driven by consumer expectations<\/em><\/strong> of the functionality of their appliances, such as touch controls and remote programmability. But with challenges come opportunities<\/em>:<\/strong> this company sees an opportunity to drive consumers to upgrade their washer<\/em><\/strong> or dryer in order to get these increased electronics capabilities, rather than waiting for the machines to break!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, success or failure is really determined by the customer experience, both in how the product performs out of the box<\/em><\/strong> as well as its value over time<\/em><\/strong>. It seems like every Saturday I am searching for the closest electronics recycling location to drop off another set of electronics that are no longer (or maybe never even were) useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers today want products that can fit their specific needs, or their specific style \u2013 a look that is unique<\/em> <\/strong>to them. At the same time, they don\u2019t want to wait<\/em><\/strong> to get their products. And they want them to work flawlessly<\/strong><\/em>. One exploding battery, or months of delay in shipping can severely damage your reputation, and impact your stock price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, you have to take into account the cost <\/strong><\/em>of both manufacturing and shipping. If you manufacture in a low-cost area but spend all your margins on shipping costs, you have not gained financial efficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need to deliver a greater variety of products without compromising quality and time-to-market demands a new approach to Electronics Design and Manufacturing. We are seeing 3 pillars that are driving the requirements of that approach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first pillar: delivering lot size one<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being able to deliver a size one lot has several implications. The supplied product must respect quality<\/em><\/strong>, but you can\u2019t test all possible variants without driving up cost and slowing time to market. Flexible production must be supported by systems that ensure quality processes are followed every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productivity<\/em><\/strong> is also at risk. You can\u2019t spend exorbitant time in station setup changes, logistics and complex planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of product<\/em><\/strong> improvement<\/strong><\/em> shifts. You move from trying to improve a product to improving multiple product variants. You begin to focus on production processes, with analysis that must be supported by simulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second pillar: optimizing material flow<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the cost of material increasing, electronics manufacturers are looking for new areas of usage optimization. They want to improve material flow to get a clear picture of the logistics<\/strong><\/em> to minimize waste and expiration. They are identifying secondary supply sources to overcome shortage<\/em><\/strong> of suitable parts. And, of course, they are leveraging just-in-time<\/em><\/strong> approaches to be able to bring just the needed quantity to the proper location exactly when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third pillar: making data useful<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third big challenge is to properly analyze all data collected over lines, factories, and time. With Big Data technologies, what we have overcome are the physical processing limitations. But what we really need is a way to retrieve smart suggestions<\/em><\/strong>, enriched with relevant details<\/em><\/strong>, that are understandable<\/em> <\/strong>and lead to the right decisions<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What needs to change<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the vast majority of production environments have not yet integrated planning with execution. Electronics and Mechanical departments may seem like two separate companies. It can seem like we have so far to go to even try to face the 3 big challenge pillars<\/em><\/strong> as we struggle with the day-to-day headaches. The supply chain manager is struggling with low material turnover, high scrap rate and low predictability. The quality engineer has a test plan that is not synchronized with the assembly plan and product changes. He finds it difficult to assess the quality of the entire product and misses the traceability records for the single items. The process planner is fighting with product data that is complex, outdated, hard to access, and not standardized across sites. The shop floor operator has work instructions that are not completely up-to-date and different machine interfaces to work with. IT manages outdated legacy information systems, trying to maintain multiple interfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach suggested by Siemens<\/a> it to start by breaking down the silos<\/em><\/strong>. Siemens has digitalized the entire value chain<\/em><\/strong> for Electronics Manufacturing, including<\/p>\n\n\n\n