The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) is an industry-led consortium whose mission is to assure leadership of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain. With a membership that includes approximately 70 electronics manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities, iNEMI provides an environment in which partners and competitors alike can collectively anticipate future technology and business needs and effectively develop collaborative courses of action to meet those needs.
iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the global electronics industry, identifies technology and infrastructure gaps and helps eliminate those gaps (both business and technical) through:
iNEMI also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.
In all of these activities, iNEMI offers a number of advantages over individual company efforts. It provides a forum in which companies can collaborate with customers and potential customers as well as suppliers and potential suppliers. It leverages the capabilities and expertise of its diverse member organizations to create an environment in which the sum is truly greater than its individual parts. By identifying where industry is going and what technologies, business practices and products it needs to get there, iNEMI helps members effectively focus not only their investments in R&D, but also investments in technology deployment for greatest return. And last, but certainly not least, the broad representation from leading OEMs, EMS providers, equipment vendors, materials suppliers, software vendors and more gives iNEMI's efforts the critical mass required to make an impact.
Accelerated Deployment of New Technology
Deployment of new technologies requires extensive evaluation and characterization of new materials and processes as well as demonstration of reliability. iNEMI brings together OEMs, EMS providers, materials suppliers, equipment manufacturers and software vendors to efficiently tackle these issues. By collaborating in a pre-competitive environment, companies eliminate costly duplication of effort by sharing information and focusing their combined resources on rapid implementation of new technologies. OEMs and EMS providers can work directly with vendors to define manufacturing needs, and vendors get direct feedback and input for developing the solutions that industry wants. iNEMI also sponsors industry forums to share "best practices" and discuss emerging trends.
Infrastructure Development
Sometimes, although new technology is available, the infrastructure required to implement that technology lags behind, impacting manufacturers' ability to bring new products to market. Often, new technologies require significant investments in equipment, and suppliers are reluctant to make those investments until they are sure they have a market for their products. At the same time, OEMs and EMS providers are reluctant to commit to suppliers that do not have proven production capability or the capacity to quickly ramp to volume production. By bringing together a number of OEMs, EMS providers and suppliers, iNEMI helps industry move beyond this impasse. Suppliers are able to develop capabilities based on what their customers tell them they need, and OEMs/EMS providers have access to suppliers with proven capabilities.
Dissemination of Efficient Business Practices
As the electronics manufacturing supply chain becomes increasingly distributed, business practices can be as important as technology in determining a company's ultimate success. iNEMI's scope goes beyond the identification of technology needs to include consideration of business and supply chain issues that impact competitiveness. For example, recent roadmaps have included supply chain management as one of the areas where needs and gaps are identified. iNEMI also sponsors industry forums to share "best practices" information and discuss emerging trends.
As with technology, iNEMI has the ability to bring together diverse sets of people from across the supply chain to discuss business practices, identify issues to be resolved and work collaboratively toward developing industry-standard solutions that will provide a larger customer base for solution providers. This environment allows companies to gain better visibility into where efforts should be focused in order to leverage their own internal resources for greatest results. It also gives participants the ability to take advantage of future capabilities with greater confidence that solution providers will support the chosen approach.
iNEMI will continue to expand its efforts in disseminating efficient business practices, focusing on interface standards in areas such as design for manufacturing, e-commerce and data interchange.
Standards Development
Standards can help ensure the rapid acceptance of new techniques by industry. By agreeing to - and formalizing - standardized solutions, industry makes it easier for manufacturers and their suppliers to create products that are easy to integrate and provide a low-risk migration path for future improvements. In this way, markets can be expanded for the benefit of the entire industry. Sometimes, the greatest stumbling block in implementing a new technology or new business practice is the absence of standards. As part of its roadmapping and deployment activities, iNEMI regularly identifies areas where standards are needed and leverages the diversity of its members to develop consensus on solutions that address these needs. Although iNEMI is not a standards-making body, it works closely with organizations such as IPC, EIA/JEDEC, IEEE and RosettaNet to ensure that iNEMI-proposed standards go through the appropriate standard organizations' approval processes to become formal industry standards. To date, these have included standards in such areas as high-density interconnect design and materials; definition of common PWB defects and processes; design, construction and test of flip chip assemblies; factory floor interfaces and communication; and supply chain communication.
For additional information, see Standards Activities.