THE OPPORTUNITY

Provide design development support and manufacturing and execute a speed-to-market strategy that offers competitive pricing. Since EarCheck had previously partnered with another Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider and component supplier, Sanmina needed to change the Approved Vendor List (AVL) during the design and development phase. Moreover, the previous EMS provider had missed critical deadlines. As a result, Sanmina developed an accelerated production strategy and committed to meeting all design, manufacturing and delivery requirements.

THE SOLUTION

After winning the account from an EMS competitor, Sanmina made an unwavering commitment to produce, package and deliver EarCheck to retailers. The product was successfully launched directly from Sanmina’s Shenzhen, China, facility, providing Innovia Medical an overall lower-cost solution and expedited time-to-market.

RESULTS

UL-approved product delivery and launch into the U.S. market. Approximately 50,000 products were successfully delivered to end customers, Walmart and Babies “R” Us distribution centers.

FROM CONCEPT TO MANUFACTURING IN NINE MONTHS

The EarCheck project involved a demanding production and manufacturing plan. With such an aggressive production plan in place, Sanmina created NPI development roadmaps and strategies to enable a successful manufacture and launch of EarCheck:

  • Load and consolidate initial Bill of Materials (BOM)
  • Validate documentation such as design layout, PCB gerbers, PCB assembly drawings, etc.
  • Validate information from customer-provided AVL on all components (electronic, plastic, metal, etc.
  • Perform site visits, audits and qualify all component vendors
  • Qualify and utilize local source components to reduce cost of goods
  • Develop first article sample build
  • Set up and customize customer-provided test equipment and fixtures

It is unusual within the EMS industry for a product to directly launch from a lower-cost region such as China right out the gate. Generally, there are less problems with the “birth” in the U.S. as issues are more quickly resolved locally. However, Sanmina listened to the needs of Innovia Medical and developed a plan to provide high-volume manufacturing in Shenzhen, China, while adhering to the accelerated deadline. This plan, for example, included setting up wall partitions — from floor to ceiling — in a matter of a weekend to resolve the problem of ambient noise interfering with the device testing process.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE

Sanmina has extensive experience in manufacturing small, hand-held medical devices. The Shenzhen facility employs an experienced and dedicated medical team in China that offers comprehensive medical experience that includes:

  • Manufacturing that requires many different configurations
  • Downloading and registering software into devices
  • Industry-leading build-to-order (BTO) and configure-to-order (CTO) expertise
  • Direct-order shipping leadership
  • RoHS and WEEE compliance services

SANMINA’S ABILITY TO DELIVER

EarCheck is another successful example of Sanmina’s ability to deliver on our core value proposition that ties the customers’ bottom line and profits to Sanmina’s success.

Design and JDM Leadership

  • Cost reduction engineering
  • NPI gateway strategy
  • Design collaboration — Contract Design Manufacturing (CDM) and Joint Design Manufacturing (JDM) models for all market sectors

Mobile Medical Devices

  • Manufacturing 10 million consumer medical devices per year
  • Focus on innovation, including the design of functional testers
  • Bringing mindful solutions to our customers from design to retail pack out
  • Delivering full product designs
  • Manufacture of hospital and home monitoring products
  • North American and Asian manufacturing footprint

Manufacturing Leadership

  • Complete end-to-end manufacturing solutions from design to logistics
  • Local and lower-cost manufacturing solutions
  • BTO and CTO leadership
  • Advanced supply chain management
  • Post-manufacturing solutions
  • Best total cost and quality in the EMS industry

Customer Knowledge

  • Technology leadership in the EMS industry
  • Focus on dedicated end markets
  • Passion for our customers
  • Easy-To-Do-Business-With approach
  • Flexible and proactive
  • Decision made in minutes and hours, not weeks and months

ABOUT SANMINA

Sanmina Corporation is a leading electronics contract manufacturer serving the fastest-growing segments of the global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS)market. Recognized as a technology leader, Sanmina provides end-to-end manufacturing solutions, delivering superior quality and support to OEMs primarily in the communications, defense and aerospace, industrial and semiconductor systems, medical, multimedia, enterprise computing and storage, automotive and clean technology sectors. Sanmina has facilities strategically located in key regions throughout the world.