LCD manufacturers tune in to outsourcing

More Asian LCD-TV producers are looking at using contracted manufacturers, research claims

By Sam Trendall

More from this author

26 Aug 2008

Be the first to comment

  • Digg
  • Tweet

LCD-TV vendors are increasingly seeking to outsource production to contract manufacturers to help beat the economic climate, research has claimed.

A report from analyst iSuppli claims that the percentage of LCD-TVs produced by outsourced manufacturers will rise from 28.2 per cent last year to 41.1 per cent in 2012. iSuppli claim that top Asian manufacturers are loosening the tight controls they have historically exerted on manufacturing operations and are looking more seriously at farming out production to cut costs.

Of the current top five vendors, only Philips is embracing outsourcing in a big way, with Samsung, Sony, Sharp and LG each keeping about 90 per cent of LCD-TV production in-house. But Jeffrey Wu, iSuppli's senior analyst for electronic manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturer (ODM) services, said: “A recent trip to Asia revealed that a number of Japanese and South Korean LCD-TV OEMs are considering increasing their level of outsourcing to EMS providers and ODMs.

Further reading

"The major Asian LCD-TV brands, which traditionally have been loath to outsource LCD-TV production, said the use of contract manufacturing could help them to improve risk mitigation and asset flexibility during a time of economic uncertainty.”

The report claims that opportunities for contracted manufacturers will open up if revenue from the consumer market starts to grow more slowly but not decline. iSuppli indicated slower levels of growth would see the big Asian LCD-TV manufacturers reconsidering possible expansions of their internal manufacturing teams.

A representative from an unnamed Japanese OEM quoted in the report said: “We plan to increase our TV shipments by more than 80 percent within the next couple of years and intend to use ODMs to fill the production gap." A spokesperson from an unnamed Korean OEM added: "We are now reassessing the originally planned continuous internal capacity expansion and, in the meanwhile, conducting discussions with ODMs to understand their capabilities."

display:none
Loading
We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions

Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Will Apple's attitude to the channel change in 2012?

52%

21%

26%

1%

CRN Partner Connect 2012

CRN Partner Connect logo

CRN's premier networking event is back on 17 May at the Ricoh Arena

Date: Thu 17 May 2012

CRN Fight Night 2012

One of the fights from CRN Fight Night 2010

Channel fighters preparing to square up once more on 24 May

Date: Thu 24 May 2012

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Submit your email address and we'll send a link to a personal newsletter control panel

fragment image

The mobile enterprise: Secure the data, not the device

The proliferation of endpoint devices within the enterprise has highlighted the shortcomings of one of the traditional approaches to data security

fragment image

Measuring the ROI of Google Apps

This Forrester report compares the costs and benefits of legacy email and productivity software with Google Apps


Dave the dealer blog

Dave the dealer

Clocking off

Dave discovers that rozzers are seemingly living in the technology dark ages

View from the channel

Views from the Channel

Departing CEO has done Dixons a service

Mark Needham, founder of distributor Widget, argues that John Browett leaves for Apple with Dixons in better shape than when he arrived

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.