ITM Consulting

What ITM Consulting does

ITM Consulting is a privately held strategic management and technical consulting firm specializing in Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and electronic assembly processes. Founded by Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall and headquartered in Springfield, Tennessee, the firm provides process evaluation, troubleshooting, equipment selection, risk assessment, supplier qualification, and expert witness services to OEMs, electronics manufacturing services providers, and equipment/materials suppliers across the medical, automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, energy, and consumer electronics sectors. Its client roster includes ABB, Flextronics, Foxconn, Sanmina-SCI, Abbott Labs, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Bose, Siemens Medical, Visteon, Ericsson, Huawei, Ball Aerospace, GE Aviation, and Schlumberger.

The company monetizes through three primary streams: (1) professional services consulting delivered via direct client engagement and multi-year retained contracts, (2) training workshops delivered on-site at client facilities or at industry conferences (IPC APEX, SMTAI, NEPCON-Asia, SMTPC-Australia, IPC-Europe) with pricing customized by duration and scope, and (3) a content and tools catalog sold through the ITM Store e-commerce platform and Amazon, including coursebooks ($35-$250), proprietary software (ProfitPro cost estimator at $95, StencilPro 3.0 at $10), a DFMA Guidelines Template ($1,000), and the AOI Benchmark Report ($2,500). Principal consultants deliver the BoardTalk podcast (200+ episodes over 10 years, distributed via CircuitInsight) and authored the 'Troubleshooting Electronic Assembly' book. ITM also offers the industry's only SMT Process Certification program at Green Belt level and a Lean Six Sigma training program.

The firm is independently owned by its founding consultants, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment. It maintains strategic partnerships with IPC, SMTA, and IMAPS for conference delivery, and operational partnerships with STI Electronics, B.E.S.T. Inc, and Knowledge Group (Malaysia) for workshop hosting. Geographic reach spans the United States, Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Australia), and Europe. No revenue figures, headcount, or funding history are publicly disclosed.

Name

ITM Consulting

Legal name

ITM Consulting

Website

https://itmconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ITM Consulting is a privately held Tennessee-based consulting firm specializing in SMT and electronic assembly processes, offering technical consulting, training workshops, and process certification to OEMs, EMS providers, and suppliers across medical, automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

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. Consulting Services: Strategic management and technical consulting for SMT and electronic assembly processes including process evaluation, troubleshooting, risk assessment, equipment selection, and expert witness services
2. Training Workshops: In-person workshops delivered at client facilities or industry conferences, covering SMT assembly processes, best practices, troubleshooting, and process optimization. Duration ranges from half-day to multi-day sessions.
3. Educational Products and Coursebooks: Sale of books, coursebooks, and educational materials through the ITM Store. Products include troubleshooting guides, process manuals, and specialized course materials for electronics assembly.
4. Software Tools: Sale of specialized software tools including ProfitPro cost estimating software and StencilPro aperture calculator
5. Market Research Reports: Sale of benchmark reports such as the AOI Benchmark Report covering automated optical inspection equipment analysis

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ITM Consulting delivers SMT and electronic assembly consulting, troubleshooting, and process optimization services to electronics manufacturers. It complements these services with in-house training workshops, technical coursebooks and reference guides, and specialty software tools (such as assembly cost estimating and stencil calculators). The firm's work spans OEM and EMS organizations seeking to improve yield, throughput, and quality in surface-mount assembly operations.

Product overview

ITM Consulting is a strategic management and technical consulting company offering a portfolio of consulting services, professional training workshops, and educational products for the SMT and electronic assembly industry. The core offerings include consulting services (process evaluation, troubleshooting, equipment selection, risk assessment) and in-house training workshops (SMT Boot Camp, Design for Manufacturability, Best Practices, Lean Six Sigma). Supporting these core services are educational products including coursebooks, books (TROUBLESHOOTING ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY), manufacturing tools (ProfitPro cost estimating software, StencilPro aperture calculator, DFMA Guidelines Template), market reports (AOI Benchmark Report), and white papers. The company also offers process certification and expert witness services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMT/electronic assembly consulting services
• In-house training workshops
• TROUBLESHOOTING ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY (book)
• SMT process coursebooks (Best Practices, Advanced Components, Low-Volume Assembly, Deadly Sins)
• DFMA Guidelines Template
• Wave and Selective Soldering Troubleshooting Guide
• ProfitPro Assembly Cost Estimating Software
• StencilPro 3.0 Calculator
• AOI Benchmark Report
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training
• SIX-SIGMA Lite: CIPQ

Quantifiable outcome

• Process problems can impact assembly yields from 5% to 20%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IPC - Association Connecting Electronics IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITM Consulting partners with IPC for workshop presentations at APEX conferences. Workshops are offered as IPC APEX professional development courses (PDCs) and count toward certification requirements.
• IMAPS - International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerITM Consulting maintains affiliation with IMAPS, an international society for microelectronics assembly and packaging professionals
• SMTA - Surface Mount Technology AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITM Consulting partners with SMTA for professional development courses at SMTAI conferences and regional events worldwide
• STI ElectronicscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerITM Consulting regularly delivers workshops at STI Electronics facility in Madison, AL. Partnership includes SMT Boot Camp, troubleshooting, and best practices workshops.
• B.E.S.T. InccoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerITM Consulting delivers workshops at B.E.S.T. Inc facilities in Michigan and Illinois, including SMT Boot Camp and best practices programs
• Knowledge Group (Malaysia)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorITM Consulting partners with Knowledge Group for EPCON Asia conference delivery in Penang, Malaysia
• CircuitInsightcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCircuitInsight hosts the BoardTalk podcast and channel, distributing ITM Consulting's troubleshooting content to electronics industry professionals worldwide
• Reliability TVminorGTM or Marketing PartnerITM Consulting content featured on Reliability TV platform for electronics reliability professionals

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Intertek Group: Intertek provides electronics testing, inspection, certification, and adjacent technical consulting globally; it competes for portions of ITM's quality-engineering and process-certification work and represents a potential scaling path through acquisition.
• Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group): Foxconn is the world's largest EMS provider and a listed ITM Consulting customer; as a broad incumbent it has internalized vast SMT engineering capability but continues to engage external experts for advanced process troubleshooting and certification training.
• Sanmina Corporation: Sanmina is a tier-1 global EMS provider and ITM customer with in-house process engineering teams; it both consumes and competes with external SMT consulting for advanced packaging and high-reliability programs.

Direct peers

• EPTAC Corporation: EPTAC is a leading provider of IPC certification and electronics manufacturing training programs in North America, competing with ITM's SMT Process Certification and workshop content for the same process engineer and instructor audience.
• ACI Technologies: ACI Technologies (part of the American Competitive Institute) provides electronics manufacturing training, consulting, and applied R&D services to defense and commercial SMT/electronics assembly customers, with strong overlap in workforce certification and process troubleshooting offerings.
• STI Electronics: STI Electronics operates an SMT training center in Madison, AL delivering boot camps, troubleshooting, and best-practices workshops. It is both a partner (delivering ITM workshops at its facility) and a direct competitor offering comparable electronics assembly training and consulting services.
• B.E.S.T. Inc. B.E.S.T. Inc. delivers SMT Boot Camp and best-practices workshops from facilities in Michigan and Illinois, overlapping directly with ITM Consulting's curriculum and target audience of process and quality engineers.
• PIEK International / IBL Group: PIEK International is an independent electronics assembly training and certification organization headquartered in the Netherlands, offering IPC-certified training across Europe that competes with ITM's workshop content and consulting footprint in the EMEA region.

Others

• Circuit Insight: Circuit Insight is an electronics industry media platform that hosts the BoardTalk podcast channel and distributes ITM's content; it is an ecosystem partner whose audiences overlap with ITM's buyer base rather than a direct competitor.
• Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA): SMTA is the industry association that hosts SMTAI and regional conferences where ITM Consulting delivers professional development courses; it is an ecosystem enabler and channel partner rather than a consulting competitor, but it also offers its own training programs adjacent to ITM's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ITMConsulting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/it-m-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 ITM Consulting