For those of us who live in the Bay Area, there are three constants in life: we love our weather, we love our sports teams, and most of all, we love to win. Based in San Jose, where I am the Western VP of Business Development for Creation Technologies, I am no different.

That is why the San Francisco Giants loss to the Chicago Cubs in the National League Divisional Series was so disappointing. Not because the team didn’t put forth a great effort, but because the loss was probably preventable.

Anybody who watched the series knows that the weak link for the Giants was their bullpen (aka the relief pitchers), who gave up four runs to the Cubs in the final inning of Game 4, costing them the game and the series.

If they’d had strong closers, there is a good chance that the Giants would be battling the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship right now, and who wouldn’t want to see that?  (Cubs fans, don’t answer that).

So what do the San Francisco Giants’ playoff loss and pitching woes have to do with Creation Technologies or the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry?

Partnering to Win

After the Giants’ loss last Tuesday night, I realized that there are plenty of similarities between baseball and the EMS industry.

In baseball, in order to win, you need to be able to close out games and deliver in the clutch – no matter what game situation comes your way. If you don’t have a strong bullpen, you will not win consistently.

Well our industry isn’t that much different. Think of your supply chain as your team, and your EMS partner as your bullpen.

Just as the Giants will be re-evaluating their bullpen this offseason, OEMs should be doing the same thing with their EMS partners.

• Can your EMS partner perform under tight deadlines?
• Does your EMS partner have the people with the necessary skills and experience to get the job done?
• Can your EMS partner adapt to changing market conditions?

The more skilled and proven your closer is, the faster your high-quality products will be ready for the market. This will give you a competitive advantage and position yourself as a reliable and credible manufacturer.

Offseason Changes

Companies need to invest in the parts of the team that get them to the final inning as well as in the “closers”. If you can’t close, then all the hard work to get you to that final inning could all be for nothing.

You don’t want to be the Giants, leaving your fans (customers) frustrated with lack of performance and missed opportunities. Fortunately for us, basketball season and hockey season just started. And if the Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks don’t pull through, at least we still win with the weather!

Let me know if you want to know more about how Creation keeps our customers hitting it out of the park.