As Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) seek closer ties with their Contract Manufacturers (CMs) in order to more fully control their supply chain during this uncertain economic climate, expectations on those contract manufacturers are evolving.  OEMs are purchasing or implementing solutions that will allow greater visibility of their manufacturing and test results, combining the data from in-house and outsourced manufacturing.

Many large CMs already offer these types of tools to their OEMs; however, integration of software often requires significant time and expense, and few CMs can afford the cost.  When these tools are in place, the transparency can lead to yield improvements and faster detection of issues and root causes.

We discuss this issue over at a LinkedIn discussion group here.  We encourage anyone who reads our blog to join that group and contribute to that (and other) test data management discussions.