OEM - The Global Process Part 1

A significant portion of social and economic theory has been devoted to the ideas of Globalization. While some authors would argue that global society started way back before industrialization, generally, globalization refers to the period of time after World War II whereupon the capitalist aligned countries (not Russia) adopted the idea of modernization theory. That all societies develop in a predictable, unified way, like America and Europe. As history has gone on, thanks to the need for America to buffer Communist countries, countries like Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong have become significant manufacturers of electronic goods. As this is a video game blog, I want to explore where video games are manufactured and if the general findings of globalization hold true.

This series of posts will not be happy.

In breaking down the ideas of Globalization, I decided to take an educational trip across the internet. I am interested in a few different things but for now, this post is a small glimpse into the world of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). OEMs are what you would call factories. They have a generic factory setup in what Wallerstein would call the periphery countries. This factory is as such that they can run large orders for generic things made of a certain material. These factories can be retooled quickly to allow for the manufacturing of multiple products throughout the course of a day.

Most of these factories (electronics factories are generally located in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, and other parts of the Pacific) employ women because their employers argue, "...that women are suited to the jobs because of their dexterity and patience" (Development and Social Change). These employees also prefer that these women are unmarried, young, and educated. These factories also tend to prefer women simply because they can pay them less and the local society will not cause too much of a protest.

In this case, I was interested in where particular parts come from for the Microsoft Xbox 360. If I were to break this down further, I am specifically looking for:

1. Hardware casings (Things like the little case for the hard drive on the xbox or the controller).
2. Computer Hardware (chipsets, boards, etc).
3. Power Supplies
   

As an exercise in research and application, I am interested in constructing what globalization analysts in America would call a Commodity Chain. The best definition I can think of for commodity chain is a long list of linked companies whose manufacturing of small products or base materials result in a complicated product assembled for the cheapest price possible. This post is the beginning of a process to outline the commodity chain that results in the Microsoft Xbox 360.

This blog entry will be short but will expand to many others as time goes on.

To begin, I simply typed Xbox 360 Manufacturer into Google. I assume here that these types of global manufacturers have to have at least basic web presence.

Following a series of links, I landed at Shenzen YuYuan Electronics Factory in 4F, Building A, Shanghenglang, Baiyunshan New Village, Longhua Shenzhen Guangdong China 518109.


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This factory offers:

Shenzhen Yuyuan Electronics Factory is located at the exit of Longda highway, Shenzhen City. Established in 1999, we are a video game accessory manufacturer specializing in the manufacture, marketing and OEM/ODM projects. We offer a variety of accessories for Wii, XBOX360, XBOX, PS3, PS2, PSP2000, PSP, GameCube, NDSL, GBA, GBC, GBA SP, and more. The range covers controllers, light guns, dancing blankets, wireless accessories, remotes, memory cards, converting cases, cables, console cases, chargers, battery kits, and Wii work-out series.

Our factory takes up an area of 8000 square meters. And the staff amounts 400, including more than 50 managers and about 30 technicians. We can develop three new products per month and export over 200 million RMB worth of products every year. Through nearly one decade's development, we have been serving a great many customers worldwide, resulting in long-term partnerships based on mutual benefits. All these attribute to our rapid development and remarkable achievements.

Aiming at high efficiency and high quality, we carry out stringent production following the ISO 9001 quality control system and implement 5S management. With substantial experience in game accessory designing and producing, we are confident to build up a prestigious brand well-known domestically and worldwide. We have been serving many buyers from Europe, the US, Australia, the Middle East, Japan and South Korea. We are an excellent partner of many national name-brand enterprises as well. To join them in partnering with a successful supplier, contact us today.

In looking at their product selection, their current catalog is mostly filled with Nintendo products. Everything from Wiimotes to the Balance Board seems to be manufactured there. However, with some digging you can find just about all aspects of the xbox 360 aside from the actual motherboard, processor, and power supplly. They do show that they manufacture DVD Drives, HDD Casings, the faceplate, and shell.

It is quite a nice find. I look forward to seeing what else comes about as I dig deeper.