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SMT007 Magazine July—What’s Your Competitive Sweet Spot?
July 1, 2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: Less than a minute

In the services industry, your niche—or sweet spot—can make all the difference. Are you in a niche that is growing with the market, or is it shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? In this issue, we spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche and offer insights to help you evaluate your own.
There’s a process to follow when identifying and refining your company’s sweet spot:
- Audit your strengths
- Understand market trends and gaps
- Listen to the customer
- Define your niche specifically
- Build stick value-added services
- Test, refine, repeat
To learn more, in this month's issue of SMT007 Magazine we explore all six steps in the process by talking to EMS companies who’ve had success in these areas. As usual, we also bring you insightful dispatches from our regular columnists.
Suggested Items
What’s Your Process for Developing a Strategy?
08/24/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamDr. Tim Rodgers might not call himself a “business strategies guru,” but the moniker certainly fits. As an adjunct faculty instructor at the University of Colorado, Tim specializes in project management, problem-solving, and streamlining processes in engineering and manufacturing. Plus, Tim knows the business side of PCB fabrication. We asked Tim to discuss the process of developing a successful business strategy for PCB fabricators, why operational efficiency is not a strategy itself, and how smaller companies can differentiate themselves in an industry that’s becoming more and more commoditized.
Global Demand for Notebooks Projected to Grow 11% QoQ in 2Q23
04/06/2023 | TrendForceTrendForce research reveals that global notebook shipments reached 33.9 million units in 1Q23—a 13% QoQ and 39% YoY decline. This drop is primarily attributed to the continued impact of economic headwinds on consumer market confidence, which has hindered notebook channels as they destock.
Testing Todd: Turning Into the Wind
02/13/2023 | Todd Kolmodin -- Column: Testing ToddThe last three years have been a challenge, from the pandemic to the circus of shenanigans in Washington, neither of which have been pleasant. So, it’s not hard to figure out why we are all in this current situation. We’re not quite in a recession but rather a stagnation. The winds of change have come, but many are still Wilson looking over "Tool Time" Tim’s fence to see what he is going to do. It’s time to go back to our sheds and sharpen the saw.
Nolan’s Notes: UHDI—Raising Awareness and Interesting Questions
11/17/2022 | Nolan Johnson -- Column: Nolan's NotesIt was over lunch on the second day of the recent IPC Symposium on Advanced Packaging when I asked a question that triggered an interesting discussion about advanced packaging and ultra high density interconnect. While these two technologies are distinct, they are also symbiotic; it takes both to make either successful. As the symposium delivered on its agenda, the inter-relationship between those two technologies became crystal clear.
November 2022 Issue of PCB007 Magazine Available Now
11/16/2022 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEven as HDI finally moves into the mainstream, UHDI is following right behind. In this issue, we launch the conversation into the strategic value of UHDI technology on the future of the PCB industry. Join us as we pull out the microscope and peer down into the UHDI niche in the marketplace and move the discussion forward.