The Foxconn of Bathroom Scales - Bloomberg
The gee-wizardry is part of Flextronics’s effort to remake itself as a leading manufacturer for the so-called Internet of Things, the growing ecosystem of devices, sensors, and industrial equipment that connect to the Web. With its PC and printer businesses maturing and customers such as BlackBerry jumping to cheaper rivals like Foxconn, the company, which recently renamed itself Flex, has seen annual revenue drop about 9 percent since 2011, to $26. 1 billion. Its share of the $409 billion electronic manufacturing services industry has fallen from 8 percent to 6. 6 percent in that time, according to researcher IDC. That’s one reason San Jose-based Flex aims to become more indispensable with the Internet of Things business, says Jeannine Sargent, Flex’s president of innovation and new ventures. “We touch everything from the connected home to the connected car to connected medical devices,” she says. Flex’s 2,500 product designers have created a library of 130 component designs that can help companies cobble. Source: www.bloomberg.com
