Are You ETO? - The Increasing Importance of Custom (Engineer-to-Order) Manufacturers

摘要

Approximately 25% of all North American manufacturers are ETO (Engineer-to-Order), yet very few know it. They refer to themselves as custom manufacturers or manufacturers within a particular sector. Due to customer demand for customization and one-of-a-kind manufacturing, there has been a 20% increase in ETO manufacturing. These are custom manufacturers rather than repetitive manufacturers. When counting manufacturers by process, there are grey areas including ATO (Assemble-to-Order) and BTO (Build-to Order), however ETO manufacturers have to confront many unique issues. In a recent survey conducted by the ETO Institute, a series of key characteristics were developed to provide some sorting criteria about who is and is not an ETO manufacturer.