# Contract Manufacturing: Takin’ Care of Business

- Show: [EE Times Current](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current)
- Published: 2022-01-28
- Length: 21m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business
- Listen: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/wb-ep170/

## Summary

Derek Kane, vice president of KMC Systems, discusses the strategic opening of a new innovation center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support the medical electronics and life sciences industries. He explains how KMC’s 'campus-based' supply chain model and early supplier involvement helped mitigate semiconductor shortages and lead time issues during the pandemic. The conversation also covers KMC’s long product lifecycles, predictive maintenance capabilities derived from its defense background, and the integration of adjacent technologies from parent company Elbit Systems.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=0) Introduction and Supply Chain Context
- [4:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=259) KMC Cambridge Innovation Center Opening
- [8:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=503) Campus-Based Supply Chain Strategy
- [10:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=647) Navigating Semiconductor Shortages and Lead Times
- [14:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=874) Product Lifecycles and Predictive Maintenance
- [18:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business#t=1139) Electronic Products Awards Overview

## Topics

- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- KMC Systems (company)
- Elbit Systems (company)
- Intel (company)
- Electronic Products (company)
- Bosch (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Scaling Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-09-19-scaling-manufacturing) (Oxide and Friends)
- [The Oxide Supply Chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-08-30-the-oxide-supply-chain) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Chip Shortage Denier](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-05-10-chip-shortage-denier) (The Amp Hour)
- [Building for Long-Term Success w/ Ron Speicher and David Craft](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-29-building-for-long-term-success-w-ron-speicher-and-david-craft) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [How A Cornwall EMS Company Scales With Defense And Aerospace Demand, with Jon Hurrell, Sellectronics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2026-07-13-how-a-cornwall-ems-company-scales-with-defense-and-aerospace-demand-with-jon-hur) (EMS@C-LEVEL)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-28-contract-manufacturing-takin-care-of-business. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to EE Times Current.