Jeffrey Zhou, Vice President, Solectron
Dave French, Solectron

OEMs face unprecedented challenges to grow revenue and profit while competing with low-cost rivals around the globe. As such, OEMs are looking to reduce costs and speed new product introduction.

But at a time when OEMs need to increase product innovation, many companies are cutting R&D budgets, impairing their competitiveness.

This environment is forcing companies to consider models that combine internal resources with partnerships to achieve product innovation at faster cycles, lower costs, and higher quality.

This paper will address business drivers for product stewardship, key elements of the concept, and best practices supported with case studies.