1. How has Solectrons value to its customers evolved over time?

Solectron put customer first, followed by respect, quality, supplier partnerships, business ethics, shareholder value, and social responsibility, with vision of Be the best and continuously improve. Since its built in 1977 with focusing on building PCBs for other electronic firms, they have essential strategy of intense focus on quality. To make sure customers get the best quality, Solectron always invested things ahead of their competitors, the Surface Mount Technology for example, that seen as a waste investment at first, but later everybody followed it. The effort that Solectron has done was made to make sure customer get the best on earth. What has change since its first built was, the business model itself from Contract Manufacturing (CM) to a Supply Chain Integrator (SCI). In which, at first, Solectron work as a PCB supplier only to their customers, but then evolving to SCI by supplying finished goods to their customers. In sum, Solectron has moved from becoming a PCB supplier, into a producer for ready-to-use PCB which makes customers work easier, and more focus on its core competences. 2. How has global expansion contributed to Solectrons ability to move from a contract manufacturing supplier to a supply chain integrator? By having a global expansion, Solectron could have more supplier partnership depends on where Solectron placed their factories. The partnerships has made Solectron able to manufacture PCB into final product, and send it to customers. Thus, by having spread factories around the world, Solectron could separate its production line to customers specific on different regions, that makes the service to customer becomes better (better in terms of cost and speed). 3. How has the company been able to successfully integrate its acquisitions? Solectron has made integration team with objective to make sure the acquisition process goes well. The team worked with the acquired company for three to six months after the acquisition was finalized. Solectron also made a business integration template in order to make sure the acquisition process aligned with the corporate culture, which focuses on quality. When the acquisition agreed, then integrating employees was next, because it was important to make sure the process conducted by them is following the intelligence, know-how, and experience that is needed by Solectron. In order to make sure the quality of employees, Solectron did a training by themselves. 4. What was the impact of the companys culture on the success of the company, on the business downturn of 2001, and on its ability to respond to the business downturn? The company culture that is customer first and focus on quality has made customer not turn away from Solectron. But, then it makes problem when the downturn comes. The falling demand has make overcapacity and excess supply. The rapid change happened to the environment makes it difficult for Solectron, since they have 4.000 suppliers, makes inventory rose by more than $1 billion. The attempt to solve the problem did by returning excess material to customers, has cut the excess inventory of $1.6 billion. Then, Solectron back to the JIT practices, in order to reduce the risk of another inventory-pooling in the future. Solectron also announced a restructuring that included workforce reductions (from 80,000 to less than 60,000) and facility closures (from 1,100 SMT lines to less than 700, and floorspace has been reduced from 14 million to less than 11 million square feet).

Solectron also closed two plants that has been done with Natsteel, one in Hungary and one in Mexico, and production moved to other plants. 5. What additional products and services should Solectron provide to its customers in the future? 6. What should the company do in the short term? In the long term?