Anyone who wants to understand the supply chain has to look deeper

Stefan, you recently spent several days visiting manufacturers and partners in China again. What is your most important takeaway?

Speed!!! Quite clearly!

The display and electronics industry is not just changing – the pace of that change has itself picked up significantly once again.

You can see it in manufacturing structures, in the enormously increasing level of automation, and in how intensively AI is already being used in development and production. From a European perspective, we still greatly underestimate what this dynamism means for industrial projects with long development and product life cycles.

That is precisely why regular visits to our partners are so important to us. It makes an enormous difference whether you discuss the supply chain over the phone from twelve hours away by air or talk directly in the production facilities with the people who experience these changes every day.

Why is this dynamism particularly relevant for display and HMI projects?

Because a customized HMI-Solution is simply not just “a display”.

The TFT cell, touch sensor, backlight, driver ICs, mechanics, firmware and software together form a complex system. If just one element changes, it can affect the availability, lead time, price or qualification of the entire product.

At the same time, China is now the central industrial ecosystem in key areas of the display supply chain. Production capacities are being consolidated, technologies are relocating, and priorities are shifting on the semiconductor side as well.

We are experiencing a structural transformation across the entire industry.

What advantage does DMB Technics gain from its own presence and network in China?

A very significant one.

With our experienced SRM team based directly in China, we have our own colleagues on the ground who work with our partners and suppliers every day. They know the production sites, contacts, structures and cultural nuances, and they pick up on many changes at a very early stage.

On top of that, there is our network, which actually reaches back further than DMB Technics itself. Our founders have been active in this industry for more than 40 years, and many relationships have grown over decades.

On my trips to Asia, I am still regularly asked about the “D” and the “M” in DMB. These names remain very much present among many long-standing market participants.

I now belong, so to speak, to the second generation at DMB that is fortunate enough to benefit from this trust and network. I am quite proud of that.

But a large network alone is not enough, is it?

No. Personal relationships can open doors, but they replace neither technical competence nor supplier qualification.

Relevance to the respective partner is also decisive. With our core partners, we carry out numerous projects and corresponding volumes over many years. That makes a difference, particularly when capacity becomes scarce.

At the same time, we do not stop at the module manufacturer when it comes to the supply chain. We are also in direct contact with IC manufacturers, panel manufacturers and other suppliers.

This allows us to verify information directly at the source in some cases. Particularly during periods of allocation, it is crucial to understand what capacity is actually available and how it is being prioritised.

Of course, even we cannot create capacity that does not physically exist. But access to the right information and contacts can make a considerable difference when it matters most.

Against this background, how realistic is “non-China sourcing”?

First, you have to define what “non-China” actually means.

Are we talking about final assembly? The TFT panel? The touch sensor and cover glass? The backlight? The driver IC? Or even the foundry (a semiconductor plant that manufactures chips for other companies) behind it?

The deeper you look into the real supply chain, the harder genuine independence from China becomes for many HMI or display applications.

That does not mean that dependencies should simply be accepted.

You have to know them, assess them, and design the architecture around them.

That is precisely why, at DMB, we look not only at the finished module but, wherever possible, at the entire supply chain behind it.

What does this mean for long-term availability?

In my view, blanket promises that a complex display or HMI product will remain available completely unchanged for ten or 15 years can quickly turn out to be empty promises.

No supplier can prevent a foundry from changing its strategy, a panel line from being shut down, or an IC from being discontinued.

That is why, for me, long-term availability does not mean:

The product must never change.

Rather:

The system must be designed in such a way that necessary changes remain controlled and technically manageable.

This includes flexible architectures, realistic second-source concepts, lifecycle management and, above all, early access to information.

What does this ultimately mean in concrete terms for the customer?

In the best case, above all one thing:

Time. Valuable time.

If we know early on that an IC is being discontinued or panel capacity is disappearing, we can respond together with the customer: through a last-time buy, technical alternatives, a second source or an adaptation of the architecture.

Our network is therefore not an end in itself.

The real value arises when information becomes an opportunity to take action early.

And that, for me, is also exactly where the difference lies between a traditional supplier and a strategic partner.

Not in the most attractive datasheet, and not necessarily in the cheapest initial quote.

In China, I heard one phrase again and again:

‘You will always find a cheaper price in China.’

But that is never what it is about for me!

What matters is whether a partner understands the product and the supply chain behind it, recognises changes early, and develops solutions together with the customer before a change turns into an escalation.

DMB Technics combines technical expertise in Europe with its own team in China, direct contacts all the way to panel and IC manufacturers, and a network that has been built up over decades.

The display industry is becoming faster, more China-centric and more complex. We cannot stop this development – but we can design systems and supply chains in such a way that they remain resilient and manageable.

About Stefan Vachal

Stefan Vachal has worked in the electronics industry for more than 20 years, more than ten of them in the EMS sector.

Today he is Managing Director of DMB Technics Deutschland GmbH and Sales Manager at DMB Technics. He supports industrial customers on customized display and HMI projects from design-in through to series production.