INSIDE THE ORDER
An order passes through sales, engineering, the SMT line, test, packing and shipping. Most buyers only meet the first desk, which is a shame.
Who touches an order
| Stage |
What the desk decides |
| Sales |
Model, configuration, price, date |
| Engineering |
Port map, cut-out, power, thermal path |
| SMT and assembly |
Board build, solder quality, firmware load |
| Test |
Ageing, touch calibration, pass or rework |
| Packing |
Carton, foam, drop protection, labels |
Where the delays actually come from
A date slips most often at the boundary between two desks rather than inside one. Engineering asks for a port list, sales did not collect it, and the drawing review starts a week late. The fix is not more meetings; it is asking the buyer for four things at the start: panel size, operating system, port list, installation environment.
Questions worth asking past the sales desk
◆ Which test does the unit go through, and how long is the ageing run.
◆ Who signs the first-article inspection, and can the report be shared.
◆ What happens to a unit that fails test: rework, or scrap.
◆ Which parts are shared between an industrial tablet and a panel PC, which affects spare-part availability.
The day itself
On 8 March 2022 the team marked the day with a decorated hall, a photo wall and a round of games at noon, and every colleague left with a flower. The reason to write it down here is simpler: the people at those desks are the ones who answer the four questions above, and it helps to know the work is done by a team that stays.
Check the range
The models discussed here are listed in our collections, from industrial panel PCs and kiosk hardware to retail pos hardware, with port maps and panel sizes on each product page.
◆ industrial panel PCs
◆ POS terminals
◆ embedded box PCs
If you need a drawing or a port list for a specific model, send the requirement and we will reply with the document rather than a brochure.
