Riverwood Solutions, the innovator in managed supply chain services and operations consulting, today announced it will host a Webinar to review the results of its 2010 OEM Survey and the implications for the OEM and EMS industry. The 2010 survey of senior operations and supply chain professionals covers OEMs ranging in size from $1 million in annual sales to over $100 billion. Survey respondents spent more than $100 billion in the global electronics supply chain in calendar year 2009.

Some key findings from this year's survey are:

• The overwhelming majority of OEMs plan to expand their staff in the areas of operations and supply chain management in 2010, with more than 72% of OEMs reporting hiring plans versus just 29% this time last year.
  
• Of OEM respondents, 54.5% indicated that they were likely to investigate or implement a major new operations tool such as an ERP, MES or OMS system in the coming year, up from just 23.5% in 2009.
  
• The survey data show that the majority of OEMs plan to engage an ODM on a new program in 2010 with more than 72% reporting they will engage on new programs in 2010, versus just 35% last year.
  
• An overwhelming majority of OEMs are more concerned with supply disruptions having a significant impact on their product shipments in the coming quarters. More than 68% of respondents reported being concerned that their product shipments may be "seriously impacted" due to unforeseen supply events versus less than half of respondents expressing this concern in 2009, likely reflecting the dramatic increase in constrained supply year over year.
  
• Despite this turbulence, 38% of the OEMs surveyed say they are satisfied with the value they receive from their EMS partner, up from only 19% last year.

"Our 2010 OEM survey results clearly indicate that the global economic climate has dramatically improved over last spring," said Ron Keith, CEO of Riverwood Solutions. "Last year more than 35% of OEMs expressed concern that their EMS supplier(s) may have difficulty meeting product commitments due to financial difficulty. One year later the number of OEMs expressing that same concern has dropped to fewer than 5%, a clear sign that most OEMs believe the worst of the economic downturn is over."

"The results of Riverwood Solutions' OEM survey are consistent with the trend SMTC has been experiencing over the past few quarters," said Steve Hoffrogge, Senior Vice President, Business Development of SMTC. "We have seen a majority of our customers increase demand starting in the second half of 2009 and continuing through Q2 2010." Hoffrogge continued, "The trend of increased customer demand and a constrained material supply environment is likely to continue to present challenges in the second half of 2010. However, we are encouraged by the much improved overall economic environment and increasing new customer opportunities as OEMs reassess their current outsource strategies and supplier partnerships."