Article: Uncharted territory: the trend in outsourcing design is creating fuzzy boundaries for OEMs as well as contract manufacturers seeking to allay risks and increase rewards.(CONTRACT MANUFACTURING)(Cover Story)

IF YOUR CUSTOMER LIST includes the U.S. Air Force and the FBI, you're used to meeting high expectations. So when a customer asked L-3 Communications Infrared Products (L-3 IP) to design a device based on brand-new imaging technology, it was just another day at the office. The problem was, the customer wanted to debut the product at an industry conference just six weeks away.

The product--a thermal-imaging camera used by firefighters to identify potentially deadly "hot spots" in burning buildings--had to work perfectly right out of the factory. "We simply didn't have the in-house capacity to complete this project within the allotted time frame," says Teressa ...

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