***Titoma Has Coined the Term "Design For Asian Manufacturing"
(March 20)
If you produce in Asia, you have to design for it.
China's manufacturing advantage is becoming so strong that even
SE Asia doesn't know how to compete anymore, and it's very likely
that many industries will follow the PC industry's example:
western manufacturers will become brand owners, as China becomes
the manufacturing shop to the world.
But taking a US product spec and asking the Chinese to make it
exactly in the same way is not going to bring much benefit. This
is because western engineers have been trained to squeeze all
labor out of the products they design, and without labor content
there is little to be gained by moving over.
A Chinese-designed keyboard featuring 19 screws in the bottom
is a good example of different design habits. In Asia they tend
to avoid tools with slides and high tolerances needed for
snapfits, because it's more economical to have a girl do the
work.
But "Design for Asian Manufacturing" pertains to the components
as well: western engineers who still specify Motorola and
Infineon where the Asians use local equivalents that cost half as
much, have lost the price race before the design has even
started.
Case Engelen's firm Titoma specializes in combining western ID
sensitivities with China manufacturing methods. You'll find more
about DFAM on their site.
www.titoma.com.tw
Wave Issue 0210 3/25/02 Article 1-01