PCB Tech - How to choose the right PCBA supplier introduction

In terms of supply chain management, a single weak link can affect the business. If you are in the electronics industry, printed circuit board assembly tends to be a weak link.

When choosing a PCBA supplier, you must be able to choose people who can guarantee quality. Okay, but people who can use their experience to ensure supplier efficiency throughout the supply chain.

Another major advantage of choosing the right PCBA is that they can use their experience to review not only PCB layouts but also prototypes. It in turn means that they help align engineering schematics with speed considerations early on, allowing you to enter the market faster

Although the above factors will help you choose PCBA carefully, here are some steps you can take to ensure the acceleration of the supply chain:

How to choose the right PCBA

1Have proper communication channels

When you are on a tight deadline, there is little room for communication failures. Therefore, please ensure that the communication with PCBA is clear and does not delay response. It's best to avoid assumptions as much as possible and make clear and understandable terms as early as possible.

In fact, good cooperation practices with PCB suppliers include:

The purpose of the quarterly review is to review performance indicators and any business updates. Ideally, this might be a two-way process, where both parties share updates, related to any business growth, new products, etc. Basically any information that affects the production process and business relationships needs to be shared.

Supplier scorecards with objective and subjective indicators are another process that should be maintained. Matters such as on-time delivery, defect rates, and communication issues should be marked in time so that everyone knows the problem (if any).

You also need to ensure that the supplier has a quality improvement plan that is regularly reviewed.

The above best practices will ensure that the process is checked and the PCBA equation is a partnership and not just a supplier.

2 make sure your documentation is complete

Make sure you have completed the document ahead of time and that the document contains the following:

Bill of Materials-Remember to follow the supplier’s preferred format

Gerber file

XY data file

Template file

Special assembly instructions

If there are any subassemblies that need to be manufactured in advance, you must also have e. Bill of materials ach sub-assembly and estimate the lead time of parts. It is also important to verify their compatibility with the finished product

Try and avoid any last-minute changes to make sure everything goes well in advance.

3Identify parts with longer lead times

The delivery time of electronic components is very long, usually lasting several months. Identifying these components as early as possible can help PCBA find replacement parts or suppliers with shorter lead times. In turn, this can significantly shorten the lead time while affecting costs.

4 forecast demand

Keeping PCBA released on demand forecasts instead of waiting to inform them that products are out of stock at the last minute can also control costs to a large extent. As we all know, express delivery may be obtained at a higher cost and may harm the overall cost. On the other hand, keeping suppliers on-demand to publish forecasts can provide a lead time for sourcing supplies at an effective interest rate.

5 End-to-end partnership

Find a PCBA that can provide an end-to-end solution and can help you from the conceptualization to the production stage. This will simplify the whole process and shorten the time.

Following the above steps can ensure that the PCB assembly process and PCB assembly providers will not become a weak link in the supply chain, but will be confirmed as a key part of the entire operation.