Outsourcing Design to Asia: ODM Practices

Abstract

During the last few decades, the growing demand of electronics and computer products has given rise to a new breed of manufacturing firms in Asia, the so-called original design manufacturers (ODMs), for example, Flextronics, Quanta, and Compal, etc. These companies provide design, manufacturing, and other value-added services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In this chapter, we provide an overview of this new outsourcing practice by analyzing its key characteristics, decision factors, and implementation challenges.