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SMT007 Magazine July—What’s Your Competitive Sweet Spot?
July 1, 2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
In the services industry, your niche—or sweet spot—can make all the difference. Are you in a niche that is growing with the market, or is it shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? In this issue, we spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche and offer insights to help you evaluate your own.
There’s a process to follow when identifying and refining your company’s sweet spot:
- Audit your strengths
- Understand market trends and gaps
- Listen to the customer
- Define your niche specifically
- Build stick value-added services
- Test, refine, repeat
To learn more, in this month's issue of SMT007 Magazine we explore all six steps in the process by talking to EMS companies who’ve had success in these areas. As usual, we also bring you insightful dispatches from our regular columnists.
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Nolan’s Notes: Finding Your Sweet Spot
07/02/2025 | Nolan Johnson -- Column: Nolan's NotesI grew up in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, where I still call home. In my early years, the region’s economy was fueled by forestry, agriculture, and fisheries. Tektronix ruled the economic landscape, of course, and Nike was just emerging from the University of Oregon track and field program. Intel wouldn’t remake my hometown of Hillsboro, Oregon, for a few more years, so my upbringing was mostly farmland and fishing boats. My dad worked at Tektronix with a side gig operating a commercial fishing boat in the summer.
What’s Your Process for Developing a Strategy?
08/24/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamDr. Tim Rodgers might not call himself a “business strategies guru,” but the moniker certainly fits. As an adjunct faculty instructor at the University of Colorado, Tim specializes in project management, problem-solving, and streamlining processes in engineering and manufacturing. Plus, Tim knows the business side of PCB fabrication. We asked Tim to discuss the process of developing a successful business strategy for PCB fabricators, why operational efficiency is not a strategy itself, and how smaller companies can differentiate themselves in an industry that’s becoming more and more commoditized.
Global Demand for Notebooks Projected to Grow 11% QoQ in 2Q23
04/06/2023 | TrendForceTrendForce research reveals that global notebook shipments reached 33.9 million units in 1Q23—a 13% QoQ and 39% YoY decline. This drop is primarily attributed to the continued impact of economic headwinds on consumer market confidence, which has hindered notebook channels as they destock.
Testing Todd: Turning Into the Wind
02/13/2023 | Todd Kolmodin -- Column: Testing ToddThe last three years have been a challenge, from the pandemic to the circus of shenanigans in Washington, neither of which have been pleasant. So, it’s not hard to figure out why we are all in this current situation. We’re not quite in a recession but rather a stagnation. The winds of change have come, but many are still Wilson looking over "Tool Time" Tim’s fence to see what he is going to do. It’s time to go back to our sheds and sharpen the saw.
Nolan’s Notes: UHDI—Raising Awareness and Interesting Questions
11/17/2022 | Nolan Johnson -- Column: Nolan's NotesIt was over lunch on the second day of the recent IPC Symposium on Advanced Packaging when I asked a question that triggered an interesting discussion about advanced packaging and ultra high density interconnect. While these two technologies are distinct, they are also symbiotic; it takes both to make either successful. As the symposium delivered on its agenda, the inter-relationship between those two technologies became crystal clear.
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