Selection and Qualification of a Local Rework Supplier

In the electronics industry there is a drive to reduce the total cost of manufacturing, while maintaining the quality and reliability of the product. The drive for lower cost can have unanticipated consequences. One such consequence is that the Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider of the Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and the System Assembly operations aren't collocated. In fact, often they are in different countries and on different continents. In normal operation, the supply chain implications can be managed. However, when there are reasons to modify or repair the assembly, the distance between the EMS supplier and the System Assembly location can cause major disruption and expense. There are several factors which may cause undue disruption to the supply chain. For example: 1. The PCBA's are damaged while in route to the system assembly line. 2. There is a product engineering change. 3. The customer order has changed and the product needs to be reconfigured. 4. There are manufacturing defects which were found during inspection or system test. Whatever the cause, sending the assemblies back to their original plant of manufacture can take too much time and may require costly premium transportation to mitigate the extra time for transportation not accounted for in the product schedule. It is for these reasons and more that the process was initiated to find a local supplier skilled in the art of mechanical and solder related reworks. The ultimate rework objective is to find a Rework Supplier who can rework the product achieving the same or high quality and reliability. This report will cover in more detail the motivation to establish a local rework supplier, the selection criteria and the qualification process.