Nolan’s Notes: Everyone Has Their Eye on India
Standard of Excellence: The Human Touch in an Automated World
The Government Circuit: Navigating New Trade Headwinds and New Partnerships
Effectively Using Dashboards at Ascentron
July 3, 2024 | David Hollingsworth, AscentronEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Ascentron is a small EMS company started in Oregon in 2002 from the ashes of what had been a $30 million EMS company that lost 90% of its sales during the dot-com and electronics industry bust of 2001. We started out at $3 million a year in sales and worked to reinvent the business. We transformed it from what was a medium-to-high-volume manufacturer serving automotive, communications, and computer customers into a low-to-medium-volume manufacturer serving aviation, medical, industrial, instrumentation, and military customers. We were successful in our efforts, growing over 600% in six years, reaching $20 million by 2008.
In 2009, the Great Recession cut our sales in half, but we were able to weather the storm and have steadily built our sales back up to pre-recession levels. It was also in 2009 that we started using a business dashboard for our management team. The dashboard helped us monitor the business, clearly communicate our performance, and see future trends.
Figure 1 shows our 2015 management dashboard. As we continually seek ways to improve our business, the dashboard has become a key tool for monitoring and managing it.
Our dashboards are formatted so that they are easy to see on an 8.5" x 14" page or a computer screen, but sometimes, in a presentation environment, we find it helpful to get a close-up view of the charts that make up the dashboard. In this article, I’ll discuss the process we followed to develop and refine our dashboards and share some of the resources we used.
Getting Started With Dashboards
At the end of 2008, we were invited to participate in the monthly IPC EMS Statistical Program. That was when we started using dashboards to develop the metrics needed by the program. For example, the monthly EMS Statistical Program for the Americas reports EMS shipments, bookings, and near-term forecasts.
To help us complete this survey for IPC each month, we created a central spreadsheet. Then we analyzed that data and developed some charts to provide visual reports of the data. That led us to develop our first dashboard. In 2009, our sales were down over 50% from 2008 and the charts were ugly, but as time went on, we could quickly see how things were stabilizing and signs of future growth.
Dashboard Basics
Our initial dashboard went through several revisions. We needed to understand the basics of creating and using dashboards to develop a formal dashboard. We talked with one of our key customers who had been using dashboards for several years, and their advice was very helpful. They recommended a few books to review, and we added those to the list of others we had identified.
Continue reading this article in the June 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine.
Share on:
Testimonial
"The I-Connect007 team is outstanding—kind, responsive, and a true marketing partner. Their design team created fresh, eye-catching ads, and their editorial support polished our content to let our brand shine. Thank you all! "
Sweeney Ng - CEE PCBSuggested Items
Absolute EMS: The Science of the Perfect Solder Joint
09/05/2025 | Absolute EMS, Inc.Absolute EMS, Inc., a six-time award-winning provider of fast turnaround, turnkey contract electronic manufacturing services (EMS), is drawing attention to the critical role of 3D Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) in ensuring the reliability of both FLEX and rigid printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs).
AV Delivers First Two Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser Systems to U.S. Army
09/04/2025 | BUSINESS WIREAeroVironment, Inc. (AV) announced the successful delivery of the first two mobile counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) prototype Laser Weapon System (LWS) to the U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) as part of the first increment of the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) prototyping effort.
NOTE Appoints Bahare Mackinovski Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
09/04/2025 | NOTEAs part of NOTE’s strategic focus on growth and customer value, the company is now strengthening its executive management team by appointing Bahare Mackinovski as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.
New Podcast Episode Drop: MKS’ Atotech’s Role in Optimize the Interconnect
09/04/2025 | I-Connect007In this episode of On the Line With…, host Nolan Johnson sits down with Patrick Brooks, MKS' Atotech's Global Product Director, EL Systems, to discuss the critical role that wet processes play alongside laser systems in advancing the Optimize the InterconnectSM initiative. Brooks points to Bondfilm as a key example—a specialized coating that enables CO₂ lasers to ablate more effectively than ever before.
UHDI Fundamentals: UHDI Technology and Industry 4.0
09/03/2025 | Anaya Vardya, American Standard CircuitsUltra high density interconnect (UHDI) technology is rapidly transforming how smart systems are designed and deployed in the context of Industry 4.0. With its capacity to support highly miniaturized, high-performance, and densely packed electronics, UHDI is a critical enabler of the smart, connected, and automated industrial future. Here, I’ll explore the synergy between UHDI and Industry 4.0 technologies, highlighting applications, benefits, and future directions.