Long known as the source for communication goods, computers and related peripherals, and consumer electronics, the electronics industry has become a significant player for the future, especially in terms of producing products that people rely on every day. As electronics became more and more important in how machines and tools function, the industry has enjoyed decades-long growth as a result.
In the mid-1990s, the electronics industry was worth a manufacturing value of $59.3 billion, growing at a rate of 25 to 30 percent per year.
Fast forward to 2011, the industry is now realizing a bit of a decline after reaching values of $360 billion in 2011. Growth also slowed down as well, with positive years seeing only upward movement closer to 4.5 percent, versus previous decades of rocketing expansion. Just as the industry saw growth due to technology and computers, today the same markets are stagnant because technology evolution has slowed down.
Globally, however, positive outlook remains strong. The electronics industry is expected to keep moving and expanding, especially as emerging market countries start to demand more goods and conveniences. Overall, the global electronics industry is expected to keep moving and growing by a 9 percent annual rate of expansion through 2015. The players expected to win the most market share tend to be the original manufacturers versus secondary players.
Because of the industry slowdown noted above, cost control and sourcing the right electronics for a business has become even more important. The use of an inventory and sourcing database management system can make a significant difference in squeezing out better pricing as well as still obtaining quality components for secondary manufacturing. ERP (enterprise resource planning) software can be particularly helpful in this regard, leveraging disconnected databases and business information together to streamline efficiencies across different company divisions.
Rather than relying on an archaic system of verbal or paper confirmations to identify electronics supply needs (and pinpoint where and when parts are needed), procurement managers can observe and identify both manufacturing demands and project supply needs far more accurately with an enterprise platform that shares production and assembly data with ordering systems. When time is of the essence and surplus needs to be trimmed down as much as possible, accurate system-wide data availability is key to running a tight manufacturing ship. Those electronics manufacturers who have invested in ERP systems to manage their business' processes have seen significant strides in production and cost-reduction with real-time status information on supply, consumption and ordering.
