The Evolution of the Last Time Buy

By Logan Wamsley

Historically, it has been easy to look at the implementation of a last time buy as a mark of professional failure. While common practice and necessary to avoid a redesign or costly product discontinuation, the very act of admitting a last time buy is the optimal path forward represented an inability to properly forecast critical…

Medical Devices vs. Consumer Electronics: Why Are Their Life Cycles so Different?

By Logan Wamsley

Trends in today’s manufacturing industry have long indicated that product life cycles are lengthening against the electronic components required to assemble them, but nowhere is this conflict more pronounced than in the healthcare industry. The average life cycle for consumer electronics, such as smartphones or tablets, is conservatively about 18 months. While supporting a consumer…

The Truth About Product Change Notifications

By Logan Wamsley

The ideal obsolescence management strategy requires transparency from all parties involved in the supply chain. These parties include the equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who design the consumer product, the EMS providers who assemble them, and the component manufacturers (OCMs) who provide the critical components necessary to bring the OEM’s vision to life. But when complications arise…