ECIA Releases Latest The Channel Channel Podcast with Ed Smith, CEO of SMTC

Atlanta – ECIA’s latest podcast episode is a timely interview with Edward Smith, CEO of SMTC Corporation, a mid-sized provider of end-to-end electronic manufacturing services. Smith has a unique perspective on the electronic components industry, having served for many years on the distribution side of the negotiating table, and now in a leadership position on the customer side. He is a long-time ECIA supporter and served in leadership positions in both NEDA and ECIA. In the podcast interview he tells Bill about his career path, his personal challenges, and his cogent insights into where the industry is headed in 2020 and beyond.

Smith did not hold back when asked what the strategic challenges are for the industry going forward. “The sole source, single distributor model that the component suppliers are advocating is very disruptive. Customers are not taken into account. We get less flexibility, fewer services. As an EMS we are supposed to be more flexible, but we can’t do that for our customers when we don’t have options. I think there is confusion about who is truly paying for services to the end customer. But it’s something that must be figured out.”

“This interview should be required listening for our ECIA members and the industry as a whole,” commented Bill Bradford, ECIA CEO and host of The Channel Channel. “Ed makes some very important points; in all the discussion about disruptions in the industry, it’s critical that we listen to the customers’ point of view.”

ECIA’s podcast channel can be accessed on the ECIA website or subscribe via many podcast providers.