PCs Aren't Just Made In Asia Now; Many Are Designed There
It's well-known that Asia makes many of the world's computers and electronic devices. Thus, few people would be surprised to learn that their computer wasn't actually manufactured by the company whose logo is on the box.
But because of the growing sophistication of these same Asian manufacturers, it's increasingly possible that your computer wasn't designed by the logo company either.
The past few years have seen a rise in something called ODMs, or "original design manufacturers." These are full-service makers that design and build finished products that other companies can then brand as their own.
A growing percentage of products in the computer and electronics industries -- it's hard to know the exact amount -- are being designed as well as made by ODMs. The trend represents a new wrinkle in the developing global economy, and one more reason for American tech workers to be a little edgy about their future.
Much of this is happening on Taiwan. During the 1980s, the island became motherboard maker to the world. That's a big and important business, but not a particularly lucrative one; lots of people are able to take a computer company's motherboard specs and then mass produce the design.
So motherboard companies began adding in-house design staffs so they could offer more "value-added" services. After a while, they were doing all the motherboard design work themselves, and they soon took the next logical step: designing the entire computer. Lately, they have been branching out into new fields, like cameras and cellphones.
Adam Pick, who follows ODMs for the research outfit iSuppli, says that the ODM phenomenon is most advanced in the notebook computer market, with Taiwanese companies like Quanta Computer, Compal and Inventec designing and making the bulk of the world's machines.
It's difficult to know exactly how much ODMs do for U.S. companies, because the companies don't like to say much about the issue. (For their part, ODMs are often forced to sign strict nondisclosure agreements.)
You can glean some clues, though, from SEC filings. Apple Computer, for instance, says in its latest annual report that to make its notebooks, it relies on the same Taiwanese ODMs everyone else does. An Apple spokesman wouldn't elaborate, or discuss any design role the ODMs might play.
And then there are occasional slip-ups. Two years ago, for instance, reports circulated that Gateway and Dell were selling the same ODM-supplied laptop. A Gateway spokesman didn't dispute the fact; Dell says it no longer sells the model, adding, "All Dell products are built to our specification."
While it varies from company to company, Mr. Pick says that typically, ODMs do the bulk of the design work on a product, with the client company perhaps making slight customizations of exterior features. That helps ensure that products look different in the marketplace, at least most of the time. It also allows computer companies to say that they help design the product themselves -- even though their ODMs are doing most of the heavy lifting.
It's little wonder that tech companies are reticent about their use of ODMs -- or of outsourced manufacturing in general. If I buy a widget from Acme Corp., I assume Acme made it, and I may even be willing to pay more for it as a result. But if I were to learn that Acme is simply reselling someone else's widgets and that Acme's rival has the same product for less money, I might well take my widget dollars elsewhere.
The global economy makes these ODMs inevitable, though. The components inside modern electronic devices -- screens, chips, hard drives and the like -- are widely available off the shelf from any number of suppliers.
One result is that innovation doesn't last very long. The iPod was certainly a sensation when it was introduced, but soon, if you want to go into the MP3 player business, you may be able to buy any number of similar ready-made models from ODMs that you can sell as your own. After all, an iPod is essentially a tiny hard-disk drive bolted to some control software.
ODMs are good news for consumers but a mixed blessing for U.S. workers. During the 1980s and 1990s, as U.S. computer manufacturing moved to Asia, you often heard that the trend was nothing to fret about because the really good jobs, meaning the high-paying design jobs, were staying in America. Not any more.
To see how ODMs might start rearranging the world's economic chess pieces, watch the mobile-phone industry. Right now, that industry has two main pillars: Carriers like Verizon and AT&T Wireless buy their handsets from big-brand manufacturers like Nokia and Motorola. But what will happen to manufacturers if carriers decide to save money by getting their handsets from ODMs -- as is already beginning to happen in Europe?
Or what will happen should ODMs begin to brand themselves? Samsung started life, in part, as an ODM; now it rivals Sony as a global brand. Up and coming ODMs like Taiwan's BenQ are beginning to sell products, such as phones, under their own brand, especially in Asia. Will BenQ one day be the next Samsung?
亚洲ODM浪潮方兴未艾
众所周知，亚洲是世界上许多电脑和电子设备的生产基地。因此，如果人们获悉，他们使用的电脑实际上并不是由机箱上标识的公司生产的，几乎没人会感到惊讶。
但是，随著这些亚洲生产商的技术越来越先进，很有可能电脑的设计也不是归属于标识的公司。
过去几年中，原设计制造商(ODM)蓬勃兴起，它们设计和生产成品，然后以其他公司的品牌出售。
电脑和电子行业中由原设计制造商设计和生产的产品比例日趋增加，具体数目很难确知。这一趋势代表著全球经济发展过程中一波新浪潮，也是美国科技工人对他们的未来略感不安的又一原因。
这种现象多出现在台湾。在上世纪80年代，台湾成为全球电脑主板生产基地。这是一项规模宏大且重要的业务，但是盈利并不特别丰厚；许多人可以拿一家电脑公司的主板样品，然后大规模生产成品。
因此，主板公司开始增加内部设计人员，以提供更多增值型服务。很快他们就可以自己完成主板的全部设计工作，并迅速地迈出新的一步：设计整部电脑。最近，他们一直在向新的领域拓展，如相机和手机。
研究公司iSuppli追踪ODM的分析师彼克(Adam Pick)表示，ODM是笔记本电脑市场最普遍的现象，广达电脑(Quanta Computer)、仁宝电脑(Compal)和英业达(Inventec)等台湾公司从事全球大部分笔记本电脑的设计和生产。
很难确切知道原设计制造商为美国企业提供了多少服务，因为他们不愿对这一问题详加评论。（他们常常不得不签署严格的保密协议。）
不过，从美国证券交易委员会(SEC)的资料中可以获得一些线索。例如，苹果电脑(Apple Computer)在最新的年报中称，在笔记本电脑生产上，它与其他公司一样依赖著同一批台湾原设计制造商。苹果电脑发言人拒绝提供详情，也不愿谈及原设计制造商在设计上扮演的角色。
电脑公司偶尔也有说走嘴的时候。例如，两年前，有报导称，Gateway和戴尔(Dell)销售的是同一家ODM供应的笔记本电脑。Gateway发言人没有对这一事实提出反驳；戴尔称它不再销售这款机型，并补充说戴尔的所有产品都是按它的具体要求生产的。
虽然公司情况各有不同，但彼克说，通常情况下，原设计制造商承担大部分设计工作，而客户可能只是对外观提出特定要求，以便确保面市的产品有所区别，至少多数情况下如此。而且，电脑公司可以说，他们帮助进行了产品设计──尽管其实大多数艰难的工作都是由ODM完成的。
难怪科技公司会对他们使用ODM的情况保持缄默。如果我从Acme Corp.购买了一件产品，我认为它是Acme生产的，果真如此的话我可能愿意支付更高价格。但是，我要是知道Acme只不过是转售了其他公司的产品，而Acme竞争对手的产品是一样的，并且价格更低，我或许就会去别处购买了。
不过，全球经济的发展使ODM现象成为必然。现代电子设备使用的元件──屏幕、晶片、硬盘等产品──在任何一个供货商那里都拥有大量现货。
但这也导致创意革新产品的寿命不会太长。iPod刚推出时轰动一时，但很快，如果你也想涉足MPS播放器业务，或许就能从ODM那里随意购买现成的机型，然后贴上自己的品牌出售。毕竟，iPod基本上是一个加载了一些控制软件的微型硬盘。
ODM现象对消费者来说是好消息，但对美国的工人们就是喜忧参半了。在上世纪80和90年代，随著美国电脑生产业务移到亚洲，你经常会听到说，没什么可担心的，因为真正的好岗位，即高收入的设计岗位仍留在美国。但现在已经今非昔比了。
要探寻ODM是如何对全球经济格局重新洗牌的，不妨看看手机行业。目前，该行业有两大主要支柱：Verizon、AT&T Wireless等运营商和诺基亚(Nokia)、摩托罗拉(Motorola)等大牌生产商。前者从后者购买产品。但是，如果运营商为了省钱决定转从ODM手中采购，生产商的命运会怎样呢？在欧洲这种现象已经初露端倪。
或者说，如果ODM开始推出自己的品牌，情形又会怎样呢？三星(Samsung)就是以ODM起家的，现在它已经崛起为全球品牌，和索尼(Sony)同场竞技。台湾明基电通(BenQ)等崭露头角的ODM也开始以自己的品牌出售产品，如手机等，尤其是在亚洲市场。有朝一日它会成为下一个三星吗？
