巨头论剑移动设备硬件，加速供应链垂直整合

当今对于 Windows 8 的种种讨论，为科技产业的许多事再度加上了惊叹号：移动设备正改变现有的业务模式！ Windoows 8 的早期评论曾经说，这款新操作系统明显针对移动设备而设计，并将终结传统PC时代。 《纽约时报》(The New York Times)刊登的一篇文章曾论及将有多少业界巨擘可能在移动业务中上演追逐戏码。英特尔(Intel)较晚加入战局，如今正积极打造移动芯片。PC销售量停滞不前，因而微软(Microsoft)将赌注押在 Windows 8 上，以缓解计算机时代的转型。Google不再只是一家搜寻引擎供货商，它还开发出 Android OS ，并着眼于硬件为导向的新应用。此外，还有亚马逊(Amazon)可能收购TI行动芯片业务，而Google也将进军货运安全业务等等。这些公司正跨入在其传统业务以外的新市场，从而对于供应链带来重大影响。 这些公司看起来好象正脱离核心竞争力的理念。过去十年前，企业不断缩小其专精领域，以期专注于公司最擅长的技术专业。生产产品的制造商专注于制造、发明产品的公司专注于研发与IP，而制造芯片的公司则专注于在芯片中嵌入更多功能，并交由制造商生产。软件公司开发软件，而硬件公司开发硬件。委外制度就是这种策略模式下的一部份，制造业务就交给专业厂商来做。 而今，我们看到Amazon、Google与微软相继进军硬件业务，并为其硬件业务寻找新市场。如果你了解每一家公司的布局，你就会发现这些策略看来似乎别具意义。无论这些公司是否成功或失败，电子组件供应链都将在其命运发展中扮演重大影响力。 除了芯片制造以外，Amazon还将必须预测市场需求，并在世界各地布局，甚至可能得卖给竞争对手。Amazon、Google与微软未来将持续面对的压力是开发出更好、更快且成本更低的新产品。他们还必须选择供货商以及掌握组件的品质管控。他们必须监督伙伴以避免遭到劳工与环保团体的指控，他们还必须提高 产品实体进展的效率，以及探索我们前未想过的产品创新。 从过去几年来，我们已经学习到的是──任何事都可能发生。一家曾经是其主打产品代名词的公司(如诺基亚手机、 RIM Blackberry 以及 HP 计算机)，后来却陷入困境。一家搜寻引擎供货商也能开发出十分成功的行动操作系统平台。苹果(Apple)因为供货商的劳工问题而受牵连。还有，垂直整合再度成为流行趋势。 对于像Amazon、Google与微软等硬件领域的新竞争厂商来说，随着业务的进展，供应链将变得更为重要。对于这些OEM而言，如今的业务模式已不同于过往，同时，这也为供应链带来了巨大商机。 本文授权编译自EBN Online，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：The End of Business as Usual，by Barbara Jorgensen, EBN Community Editor

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{pagination} The End of Business as Usual Barbara Jorgensen All the buzz about Windows 8 has put an exclamation point on something many in the technology industry already knew: Mobile devices are changing business models. Early reviews of Windows 8 say that the OS is clearly meant for mobile devices, and that PC users are going to have a hard time moving away from the desktop. The New York Times published an article today on how many industry behemoths seem to be playing catchup in the mobile business. Intel was late to the party and is now building mobile chips. PC sales are lagging, so Microsoft is betting on Windows 8 to ease its transition away from pure computing. Google, no longer content being a search engine provider, has developed the Android OS and is looking at new uses for hardware. These and other companies are entering businesses that are nontraditional for them, and the implications for the supply chain are significant. Last week, EBN featured several stories that highlight this shift. They covered such topics as the possibility of Amazon buying a chip company, whether the PC is being replaced by the smartphone, and Google's entry into the cargo security business. Companies seem to be moving away from the idea of core competency. A decade ago, businesses were narrowing their areas of expertise to focus on what they do best. Companies that built stuff focused on manufacturing. Those that invented stuff focused on R&D and IP. Those that made chips focused on embedding more functions on to a chip and left the manufacturing to fabs. Software companies developed software, and hardware companies developed hardware. Outsourcing was a key part of this strategy, and manufacturing was left to the experts. Now we have Amazon, Google, and Microsoft entering the hardware business and finding new markets for that hardware. If you read the business case each company lays out, these strategies appear to make sense. Regardless of whether they succeed or fail, the electronics supply chain will play a big role in their fate. In addition to manufacturing chips, Amazon will have to forecast demand for them, move them around the world, and possibly sell them to its competitors. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google will be under continuing pressure to release products that are better, faster, and less expensive. They will have to select and qualify suppliers. They will have to vet manufacturing partners to avoid accusations of labor and environmental abuse. They will have to increase efficiencies in the physical movement of their goods, and they will have to explore options we haven't even considered yet. If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that nothing is too far-fetched. Companies that were once synonymous with their products (Nokia with mobile phones, RIM with BlackBerry, HP with computers) are stumbling badly. A search engine provider developed a wildly successful mobile operating platform. Apple got a black eye for, of all things, worker abuse. And vertical integration is trendy again. Companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are new to the hardware game. If anything, the supply chain will become more important to them as their business models evolve. For these OEMs, it's no longer business as usual. And that's a huge opportunity for the supply chain.