-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueInventing the Future with SEL
Two years after launching its state-of-the-art PCB facility, SEL shares lessons in vision, execution, and innovation, plus insights from industry icons and technology leaders shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Sales: From Pitch to PO
From the first cold call to finally receiving that first purchase order, the July PCB007 Magazine breaks down some critical parts of the sales stack. To up your sales game, read on!
The Hole Truth: Via Integrity in an HDI World
From the drilled hole to registration across multiple sequential lamination cycles, to the quality of your copper plating, via reliability in an HDI world is becoming an ever-greater challenge. This month we look at “The Hole Truth,” from creating the “perfect” via to how you can assure via quality and reliability, the first time, every time.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Navigating the Global Materials Supply Chain: A Roundtable Discussion
December 3, 2015 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Shaughnessy: Mark, we'll start with you. What would you say are some of the biggest challenges you face in dealing with customers from a varied base?
Goodwin: Really, everything outside of Asia is now a quick-turn, high-mix business. We have to have the right materials in the right place to supply our PCB customers like Schoeller, generally speaking, with a very short lead time. That ranges from a few hours to a couple of days, but not much longer than that. I'm here to provide technical support and backup services to those customers as well. That includes full lab service capability to enable us to verify our products and our customers’ prices.
Keuthen: I absolutely agree with that. What comes out of the industries, specifically out of the automotive industries, logistically is now brought into the supply chain anyway and whatever logistical concepts we need to fulfill for our customers. Things like VMI and managed consignment stops without customers—all of these things actually need to go into our supply chain and be integrated vertically down to our suppliers as well. That's why for us it is very important having more than 1,300 different materials on stock (which sometimes is not even sufficient in daily business), to have reliable suppliers that are able to support our logistical system and have the right materials, of course.
Pattie: Yes, I can see that. Increasingly, with complexities that you have in materials, PCB manufacturers really have to be in partnership with their laminate suppliers. I think for a few reasons. One: we're all in this quick-turn market, so if you don't have material in stock, you lose that opportunity and your competitor may have that. That's very important. We become our customers’ inventories at times.
I think also the partnership with the PCB factory is very important because we need to know what direction you’re going so that we can plan. It's such an increasingly competitive market that if you're going to live on “me too” products, you're not going to be very successful in that company. We're always looking for where to guide the technical direction of our company so that we can plan for not now, but for five years from now. The partnership is really important in many different ways.
Page 2 of 6
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
Building Electronics Excellence in India
09/08/2025 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineFor over two decades, Dave Bergman has helped steer the Global Electronics Association’s work in India, from a single training course to a thriving regional operation with deep government and industry ties. In this interview, Dave explains how the group went from partnering with IPCA to opening its own office in 2010, creating India’s first domestic electronics manufacturing standard, and securing funding for dozens of Indian companies to attend U.S. trade shows.
New Podcast Episode Drop: MKS’ Atotech’s Role in Optimize the Interconnect
09/08/2025 | 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.
The Global Electronics Association Hosts Successful WorksAsia-AI and Factory of the Future Technical Seminar
09/03/2025 | Global Electronics AssociationOn August 22, 2025, the Global Electronics Association hosted the successful WorksAsia-AI and Factory of the Future Technical Seminar during the exhibition Automation Taipei 2025. The seminar brought together 81 representatives from 58 companies, focusing on the latest applications of AI in smart factories and unveiling four key directions that will drive the electronics industry’s transition toward intelligence and sustainability.
TRI's AI-Powered Inspection Solutions at SMTAI 2025
09/02/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading provider of test and inspection systems, will be joining the SMTA International Exposition & Conference. The event will be held from October 21 – 23, 2025, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, USA.
More Than a Competition: Instilling a Champion's Skill in IPC Masters China 2025
09/01/2025 | Evelyn Cui, Global Electronics Association—East AsiaNearly 500 elite professionals from the electronics industry, representing 18 provinces and municipalities across China, competed in the 2025 IPC Masters Competition China, March 26–28, in Pudong, Shanghai. A total of 114 contestants advanced to the practical competition after passing the IPC Standards Knowledge Competition. Sixty people competed in the Hand Soldering and Rework Competition (HSRC), 30 in the Cable and Wire Harness Assembly Competition (CWAC), and 24 in the Ball Grid Array/Bottom Termination Components (BGA/BTC) Rework Competition.