This will likely change in the future as the influence of OCM companies increase and they develop ways to negotiate large component buys programmatically. While large volumes can be produced, it is not possible to do the hard legwork of negotiating the best price on a component-by-component basis through these web applications.

Today, one click manufacturing is generally confined to small-quantity production. Using the Web to buy assembled circuit boards fits in well with their worldview, whereas submitting RFQs via email and negotiating with contract manufacturers and component distributors over the phone does not. They are used to using Web services to order dinner, book plane tickets and shop for personal electronics. Using web-based tools such as OCM is especially appealing to hardware startups whose employees skew younger and tend to be more comfortable with self-service tools. In some cases, you can get assembled boards on your doorstep in as few as three days.

This is, of course, a simplified explanation of the OCM process and enabling technology but the key takeaway is that OCM can provide a significant time-to-market advantage, particularly for hardware startups competing against large, entrenched players. No human intervention is involved in the quotation process and, in some cases, you can get assembled boards on your doorstep in as few as three days. They will immediately provide you with a quotation based on third-party APIs for both up-to-date component pricing and availability data, as well as for PCB manufacturing and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) in the U.S. If you need a few units built for prototyping and you need them fast, just upload a PCB design and bill of materials (BOM) to a service like Tempo Automation or CircuitHub. This trend, combined with the rise of startups building IoT devices, has far-reaching implications for the electronic component supply chain. Now, OCM is making inroads into the more traditional electronic manufacturing and assembly world. One click manufacturing (OCM) is a concept that arose from the 3D printing world: design a 3D model of a part, upload it to an OCM company like Shapeways or Ponoko, click “build,” and wait for the physical object to be delivered to your door. One-Click Manufacturing: Could It Really Be That Easy?

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