RIM to reduce number of external manufacturers from 10 to three
by Dan Ilika
Part of cost-saving plan launched in first quarter 2012 that sees company looking to cut operating costs
With Research In Motion (RIM) looking to shed $1-billion in operating costs, the floundering phone-maker is shifting production to three external manufacturing facilities from 10.
“We are making changes to our supply chain as part of wider efforts to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of RIM’s operations,” company spokesperson Nick Manning said in an email.
As CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed in a recent results call, the embattled Waterloo, Ont., device maker plans to cut seven external manufacturers from its stable of 10 by the end of the calendar year as part of cost-savings.
“We started the process to outsource our global repair services and we expect the transition to be complete in the third quarter of this fiscal year,” Heins said on the call. “We are (also) optimizing our global EMS manufacturing footprint to reduce complexity and improve delivery performance.”
According to Manning, RIM does not disclose the details of manufacturing, supply chain or logistics partners, or of the location of EMS partner sites.
However, Manning did make note of a recently-released statement from the company that describes contract suppliers “mostly based in Mexico.”
