THE CHALLENGE

When companies look to expand around the world, their products have to meet the needs of new markets. These companies also need a robust global supply chain. A leading gaming console company’s products were manufactured locally with 90% of their suppliers located 50 miles from their headquarters. In order to expand around the world, the company had to:

  • Meet the needs of new markets with new features and improved functionality.
  • Have a supply chain positioned to support multiple configurations, delivery and product support.
  • Meet tight launch schedules by simplifying the design, shortening the design cycle and reducing product costs.

 

WHY SANMINA

Sanmina was selected for three key reasons:

  • Extensive experience designing and manufacturing gaming consoles, set-top boxes and other advanced multimedia products.
  • Design, technology, and manufacturing facilities worldwide to support new markets and increase capacity.
  • Proven track record for bringing products to market quickly and cost effectively.

 

SANMINA’S APPROACH

Critical needs included adding new features, cost reduction and time to market. Overall, Sanmina:

  • Shrank Design Cycle by 5 Months
    The previous design cycle included two phases. To meet a compressed schedule, Sanmina added key features with a single design cycle by prototyping the most critical components first, while designing the less critical components. This new process reduced the design cycle from 14 months to 9 months, improving time to market significantly.
  • Added Features to Enhance Product Flexibility
    After prototyping the main product, Sanmina recommended adding a mechanical reel system, making the gaming console more versatile. A single machine could now be converted from a video based console to a reel-based console depending on customer demand. Effectively, this became two products based on one electronic and console design.
  • Reduced Product Costs
    Several design and supply chain changes were made by Sanmina, significantly reducing product costs. Also, some components were designed for soft tooling to lower overall cost and provide more flexibility for making design changes. Sanmina also changed some component sources to reduce the total landed cost for the product.
  • Simplified the Design
    Sanmina redesigned some of the mechanical and electromechanical components to take advantage of Sanmina’s
    manufacturing technology and process improvements, while improving system rigidity, structural strength and integrity.
  • Improved Maintenance and Support
    Sanmina designed and developed an easy to configure product that supported multiple hardware and software options, along with the ability to implement product modifications in the field. These changes included a field kit that made the product easier to maintain and minimized the time required for service or software updates.

 

RESULTS

Leveraging Sanmina’s extensive experience with multimedia product design, VAVE (Value Analysis and Value Engineering), DFM, electronic design and structural analysis enabled the customer to:

  • Reduce the design cycle by 5 months
  • Add features and improve product functionality
  • Significantly reduce the overall product cost

 

THE BIG PICTURE

Sanmina’s design capability, global footprint and supply chain capability enabled this company to introduce their products into significant new markets. Based on the success of this product launch, the customer is working with Sanmina on additional products.
Sanmina designs and delivers gaming console equipment, home entertainment, personal entertainment and other multimedia products including:

  • Set-top boxes
  • Audio and video equipment
  • Cinematography
  • Casino gaming console units
  • Global positioning systems
  • Portable media players
  • Point-of-sale terminals
  • Home controls
  • Digital audio players
  • And many other multimedia products

Sanmina has the technical expertise and global presence to help you reduce costs, accelerate time-to-market and simplify your supply chain.