Toshiba formally opened a regional component management center in Shanghai this week in a ceremony attended by the company's CEO, as well as executives from its Taiwanese outsourcing partners such as Inventec, Compal, and Quanta.

 

The allure of lower production costs made possible by a growing concentration of PC component suppliers in China motivated Toshiba's decision to open the center. Moreover, Toshiba's outsourcing partners have most of their production facilities located in the region.

 

The center's first priority will be to seek out local PC component suppliers. Toshiba's CEO used the opening ceremony as an opportunity to exchange views with Toshiba's partners about the search for local component suppliers. Toshiba hopes that its Taiwanese partners' familiarity with component suppliers in China will help strengthen its component procurement abilities.