OEM meaning ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 12:02:53 am
content: Am bit confused about what OEM ( Original Equipement Manufacturer ) actually mean. In some contexts it means the manufacturer that produce subsystems for an other company , in this case Assembler. And some time it's the complete opposite and it's the end product manufacturer ,the assembler itself. Does the meaning changed over time so now OEM mean one thing and not the other , or the term is usable for both cases but should be clarified by context.I did googled it , and it was even more confusing, as most articles start by saying it's subsystems manufacturer or the manufacturer of equipment being re-branded by an other company. but still mention that it could be the opposite too.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 12:07:21 am
content: Multiple meaning, including a number of assemblers and manufacturers naming them self OEM in some countries,Equally it can get as vague as the company itself holds the design files for the majority of the project,Or it can be used to refer to people or companies wanting to buy items to use in there own products (referred to as OEM on a number of component manufacturers)

author: elgonzo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 01:45:08 am
content: OEM can also have the meaning of "the company who builds theoriginal partsof a product". In this context "original parts" stands in contrast to "aftermarket parts" or "3rd-party parts". For example, if you have an HP Laserjet printer, an OEM toner cartridge is one that is either produced by HP or by a company which has been licensed by HP to produce Laserjet toner cartridges (which then are usually, but not necessarily, carry the HP brand). Toner cartridges from any other 3rd-party company are not OEM toner cartridges - they are just compatible toner cartridges...

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 01:50:03 am
content: Yes has multiple meaningsIf there are 3rd party versions of a part, eg car components.OEM = original, after market = 3rd partyWhere a company only makes products to sell to other companies, not consumers. eg computer PSUs.OEM = outsourced productionan example, dell don't make the PSUs used in their computers.You can also get rebranded products, but where the original manufacturer also has a branded version.Consider them as putting branding on their own OEM products.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 02:01:30 am
content: Further to the offered explanations, I'm aware accessories (probes etc.) that are supplied with Siglent products that I sell are not made by Siglenthowever that manufacturer is still an OEM supplier albeit their products are then shipped with Siglent equipment as Siglent probes.

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 11:17:21 am
content: so basically OEM is anyone manufacturing anythingor any manufacturer is an OEM of his own product ... why this stupid term even exist in the first place

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 11:30:46 am
content: Quote from: hamdi.tn on March 26, 2016, 11:17:21 amWhen equipment is re-branded OEM identifies the maker, like Siglent is OEM for some LeCroy products.I believe the term has arisen in recent decades from the many products that are re-brands, would not there be more marketplace kudos from being the OEM not the reseller?

author: Iwanushka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 04:58:32 pm
content: From my experience on ebay oem on chinese (applies to other counties too) stuff might also mean fake/knock off.... and is used to get rid off all that legal vero stuff so you won't get banned on ebay...

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 07:21:46 pm
content: To further add to confusion and ambiguity, but perhaps this is just a local thing, specific to my country... During the late 1900's to early 2000's in Poland, PC market bloomed in the form of various PC shops, large and small (mostly small). The market for brand-name PCs, assembled and sold as a finished product, with a model number, was practically non-existent, save for a few country-wide players. Everyone and their dog was either custom-building their PCs themselves at home, asking someone to do that for them or getting their PC from one of said PC shops. Those shops had few suggested configurations listed but there was nothing stopping you from cherry-picking the exact components you wanted from a huge, photocopied, ultra-densely printed lists (with prices updated daily), as long as they fit together. The assembly itself was most often free or peanuts, i.e. the price of the PC was the sum of the prices of its components. And so, everywhere you turned your head, there were the same beige boxes everywhere, with hundreds of different square "brand-name" stickers slapped onto whatever beige PC case the wholesale importer got the best deal that month. Most of the components those times were available in "OEM" versions, originally meant for - you've guessed it - OEMs. They came in plain antistatic bags, no fancy printed boxes or manuals. Some of them you could buy in either version - the "retail" one coming at a slight premium. Absolutely no seller was respecting this "OEM" thing - this was the default and often only form of getting a PC component for an end user. You often got that funny looks for choosing the nice colored boxed one. To this day I remember how surprised and amazed I was upon the realization that there were such things as hard disks shipped in big, padded, colorful boxes! Heck, even now, when you buy HDD here, most of the times you get it bare, in the antistatic bag. I'm not sure about the CPUs - haven't bought one in ages.Oh, and BTW, you won't guess what was the OS (read: Windows) situation back then...Sorry for the long-winded, not-really-that-exciting tale, but I had to do something with the time it took me to finish the beer

author: elgonzo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 07:45:25 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on March 26, 2016, 07:21:46 pmI imagine you holding and drinking a beer in one hand while hacking frantically on the keyboard with the other hand...

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 07:49:19 pm
content: Quote from: elgonzo on March 26, 2016, 07:45:25 pmNah, I'm just more of a "sip... ahhh, that's good..." than a "gulp-gulp-gulp" type

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2016, 08:43:38 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on March 26, 2016, 07:21:46 pmi really need a beer now, just lost my smartphone made by some OEM and assembled by an OEM and sold by authorized distributor