Outsourcing Strategies Separate Winners from Losers in the Mobile-Handset Market

Ask a consumer which company made his mobile phone, and he's likely to answer with the name written on the product, such as "Nokia" or "Motorola." But the reality is that the handset likely was made by a contract manufacturer whose name the consumer has never heard. Indeed, a shade over 30 percent of mobile phones produced in 2007 were built by such Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) or Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers, according to iSuppli.

For mobile-handset brands, management of outsourced design and manufacturing has become a paramount factor determining competitiveness.

"The way a mobile-handset brand uses design houses and contract manufacturing can make the difference between success and failure in the market," said Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM, for iSuppli. "Decisions on what products to outsource, which types of contract manufacturers to employ and what services to use can have a huge impact on mobile-handset makers' ability to produce compelling products, to remain cost competitive and to respond to changing market conditions."

To help the market understand the impact of contract manufacturing on the mobile-phone business, Wu on Mar. 5 will host an iSuppli Webinar event on Mar. 5, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Pacific time.

Attendees can call in to the Webinar to hear Wu's comments and can use an Internet browser to view the presentation slides. Wu will take questions from Webinar attendees.

Visit: http://www.isuppli.com/events/default.asp?EventCode=WB to register.

Posted to the site on 28th February 2008