Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc.

What Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc. does

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc. (CMC) is a privately held, founder-led boutique consulting firm founded in 1999 by Robert G. Freid and headquartered in Bothell, Washington. The firm advises electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on electronic manufacturing services (EMS) outsourcing, with a service portfolio spanning outsourcing strategy and supplier selection, manufacturing agreement drafting and negotiation, make-or-buy feasibility analysis, excess and obsolete inventory damages quantification, and expert witness testimony in EMS and transfer-pricing litigation. CMC delivers its work through project-based engagements, typically running about four months, targeting enterprise OEMs with materials spend in excess of $100 million.

The firm's competitive differentiation rests on three proprietary assets developed over more than 25 years: an activity-based cost benchmarking model that estimates contract manufacturer PCB assembly and end-product production costs across the USA, Mexico, China, India, and other geographies; a dynamic MRP simulation model that allocates excess-inventory liability at the part level; and a library of industry-specialized EMS contract templates. CMC supplements these with on-site performance surveys it has conducted at nearly 200 EMS assembly sites across North America, Asia, and Europe, and explicitly does not accept incentives from suppliers to preserve advisory independence.

CMC operates with 1-10 employees, retaining additional specialists on an as-needed basis. It goes to market through direct enterprise engagement, industry conference presentations, trade publication thought leadership, AeA membership referrals, and academic advisory board participation (notably at the University of Washington). Customer industries include medical devices, banking/ATM equipment, computing and consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive tracking, industrial LED lighting, HVAC, and storage products. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc.

Legal name

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://cmcseattle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc. is a founder-led Bothell, WA boutique consulting firm advising electronics OEMs on EMS outsourcing strategy, supplier selection, contract negotiation, make-or-buy feasibility, and expert witness services, with proprietary cost benchmarking and MRP simulation models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Redmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Outsourcing Strategy Consulting: Fact-based advisory for electronic manufacturing services supplier selection, outsourcing strategy, and implementation assistance. Project-based engagements typically lasting several months.
2. Contract Negotiation Services: RFQ creation, manufacturing agreement drafting, pricing negotiation, and favorable product prices and terms. Creates first draft of agreements customized for client needs.
3. Expert Witness Services: Expert testimony, argument research, document review and analysis, rebuttal and report preparation for litigation involving EMS disputes, transfer pricing, and excess inventory liability cases.
4. Outsource Feasibility Analysis: Make-or-buy analysis including multi-year cost modeling of product costs, cash flow differences, ROI calculations, and transition planning for in-house vs. contract manufacturing decisions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc. (CMC) is a boutique consulting firm that advises electronic equipment OEMs on contract manufacturing strategy. Services include fact-based outsourcing strategy, EMS supplier selection and evaluation, manufacturing agreement drafting and negotiation, make-or-buy feasibility analysis, excess and obsolete inventory damages assessment, and expert witness testimony for EMS-related litigation and transfer pricing disputes. The firm serves clients across the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

Product overview

Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc. (CMC) is a consulting firm founded in 1999, not a software product company. The company offers a portfolio of advisory services centered on electronic manufacturing services (EMS) outsourcing strategy. Core services include Outsourcing Strategy Consulting (supplier selection and evaluation), Outsourcing Contracts (RFQ creation and manufacturing agreement negotiation), EMS Expert Witness Services (litigation support and damages analysis), Outsource Feasibility/ Make-or-Buy Analysis, and Excess & Obsolete (E&O) Inventory Damages Assessment using proprietary MRP simulation models. Additional services encompass Acquisition Due-Diligence, Supplier SWOT Analysis, PCBA Quality Defect Cause Analysis, and Transfer-Pricing Tax Dispute Support. CMC serves electronics device companies across industries including medical, banking, computing, communications, automotive, and industrial sectors. The firm maintains objectivity by not accepting incentives from suppliers and has performed onsite surveys at nearly 200 EMS assembly sites globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Multi-year cost modeling for make-or-buy decisions including COGS, cash flow differences, and ROI projections
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• University of Washington - Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Masters ProgramminorOthers · 1 January 2014Robert Freid serves on the Advisory Board to the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Masters Degree program at the University of Washington Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering since 2014. Board members help review content, guide course design and provide updates to ensure the program remains current as the field evolves.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• McKinsey & Company:

Direct peers

• Analysis Group: Economic and financial consulting firm with a substantial expert-witness practice serving litigation involving industrial disputes, transfer pricing, and damages analysis—directly comparable to CMC's expert-witness and damages-assessment work for EMS-related cases.
• Berkeley Research Group: Forensic and litigation consulting firm providing expert testimony, damages analysis, and operational consulting in industrial and commercial disputes—comparable to CMC's expert-witness practice and proprietary damages model.
• Charles River Associates: Consulting firm combining economic and management consulting with deep expert-witness and forensic capabilities in industrial, financial, and transfer-pricing disputes—closely aligned with CMC's litigation-support and damages-quantification services.
• NERA Economic Consulting: Economic consultancy specializing in transfer pricing, antitrust, and complex commercial disputes with expert testimony—a near-direct peer for CMC's US Tax Court and offshore-manufacturing transfer-pricing work.
• Compass Lexecon: Economic expert consultancy focused on transfer pricing, international tax disputes, and complex commercial litigation—directly comparable to CMC's IRS/Treasury transfer-pricing expert engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company: Global management consulting firm with an Operations practice advising electronics and industrial clients on sourcing, outsourcing, and supplier selection—an incumbent competitor with overlapping capabilities at much larger scale.
• Kearney: Global management consulting firm with a strong operations and supply-chain practice serving electronics and industrial OEMs—broader competitor that overlaps with CMC's outsourcing-strategy advisory at the enterprise level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/contract-manufacturing-consultants-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Contract Manufacturing Consultants, Inc.