Industrial PC (IPC) suppliers have increasingly perceived niche sectors like healthcare and military to be steady sources of revenues, leading them to deepen their deployments in the said sectors. According to relevant suppliers, IPCs are mainly used in challenging environments with spec requirements different to those in consumer electronics sectors, thus leading to better gross margins.
Compared to those of mass-volume contract manufacturing, the margins of customized manufacturing increase with the degree of customization. The long and stringent certification processes unique to each sector also ensures a high degree of customer stickiness once one hits into the supply chain. IPC suppliers indicated that even though certification processes often last from three to five years, profit margins are usually no less than 40%. In addition, according to suppliers, orders for niche applications enhance one's own design and production technologies, which in turn helps with competing for other types of orders.
As a result of geopolitical dynamics, according to IPC suppliers, orders from the arms industry have notably risen in the past two years, with a wide variety of applications. Despite the order surge, IPC suppliers are mostly not in direct contact with end-customers, rather via distributors and system integrators.
Available information show that Advantech, ADLINK, iBase, APlex, Neousys, Winmate and PARPRO have already set foot in the military and aerospace sector.
