There are two main models for contract manufacturing: OEM and ODM. While in the first case, the contractor produces a finished product by a third-party , in the second case, it is also developing a customer's specifications product itself. Laptops and tablets are often produced by ODM .
For each issued and designed laptop contractor receives $ 13-20, in the case of tablet, this figure drops to $ 10.09. First, a few tablets are simpler in design, they contain fewer components. In addition, the pursuit of customers for low-cost tablet leaves little room for earnings directly from the vendor. Competition in this segment also makes ODM-players to reduce prices for their own services in the fight for customers.
It turns a vicious circle: the decline in demand forced ODM-manufacturers to refuse to release notebooks previous levels, and switching to release a tablet does not provide a sufficient margin. We can only rely on the fact that while the tablet market is on the rise, low margins can compensate high production volume .