This whitepaper discusses how process preparation is the critical link between the completion of the design and the start of physical product realization. The gap between these two processes can be quite wide, geographically and organizationally, especially where external contract manufacturing is used. 

Electronic product manufacturers are providing their customers with greater varieties of more complex products, all of which have to be delivered with perfect quality, on time, and at a low price to be competitive. In this high-pressure environment, process preparation systems need to be able to cope with every aspect and production, all machines and processes, without mistakes and without confusion, to scale the flexibility and responsiveness of the production operation in line with customer and market expectations.