Competitive Advantage

April 24, 2019

Benjamin Franklin said “you may delay, but time will not”, this is particularly apt in the world of commerce and especially the electronics industry where change is accepted as a constant.  Semiconductor components continue to shrink in size and an almost infinite array of CSP/bare die outlines emerge daily since they are unconstrained by traditional assembled package outlines.  Additionally, the increasing trend to tape and reel mechanical and odd-form parts such as clips & connectors etc  continues to push the boundaries of tape & reel.  The need to react to these constant changes and develop carrier tape packaging quicker than the competition becomes paramount in order to remain competitive.

Further, the impact of globalisation on the electronics industry over the last 15 years has led to many American & European carrier tape manufacturers moving their tape forming operations to SE Asia. 
This in turn means that for carrier tape users in Europe & North America the lead-time for carrier tape shipped via sea-freight can be 12 weeks or more, a whole fiscal quarter! 

This means that extensive materials resource planning and shipping logistics must be considered up to 4 months in advance.  For many customers this is not acceptable and local supply solutions must be sought, this is where Reel Service provides a major competitive advantage for European customers.

All Engineering Design is performed in-house by our experienced team permitting quick responses to customer questions raised during the design phase eliminating the time lag issues typically encountered when dealing with vendors on another continent 7-8 hours ahead.

Further strengthening our capability and maintaining our ability to control lead-time, tooling manufacture is also performed in-house providing a fully vertically integrated carrier tape manufacturing process.  This provides in-house capability for manufacture of tooling and also capability for ongoing maintenance and repair of tooling.

Another in-house capability helping to reduce process time is the ability to slit raw sheet materials to specific customer requirements, which again shortens carrier lead-time and allows Reel Service to maintain tight control of the whole process.

Another well known quote by Benjamin Franklin states “time is money”, again never more apt than in relation to lead-time in commerce. By manufacturing close to our customers (in Europe) and by keeping all design and manufacturing in-house, Reel Service can provide the shortest possible lead-time for standard and custom carrier tapes avoiding the long delays associated with buying bulky tape from other continents.

For further information or to enquire about Carrier Tape from Reel Service: Complete our contact form