Navigating Factory Moves and Scaling Production in an Era of Uncertainty with PRG's Wayne Miller

Electronics manufacturing is at an inflection point. The combination of geopolitical shifts, trade restrictions, and supply chain disruptions has forced companies to rethink where and how they build. At the same time, the unprecedented demand for AI-driven infrastructure and data center equipment is straining production capacity.

To understand how companies are navigating these challenges, we spoke with Wayne Miller, Partner at Product Realization Group, who has spent his career helping companies—from startups to multibillion-dollar enterprises—scale their manufacturing operations.

Watch the full discussion between Anna-Katrina Shedletsky and Wayne Miller below.

The Landscape: A Shifting Global Supply Chain

Factory moves and contract manufacturer (CM) selection have always been high-stakes decisions. But now, with tariffs and global instability, companies are questioning long-held assumptions about where their supply chains should be based.

“This transition didn’t start yesterday—it started in 2018,” says Wayne. “Companies were already shifting production away from China. But today, they’re reevaluating whether their alternative plans still hold up.”

One major driver of relocation decisions is government incentives like the Buy America, Build America program, which is pushing manufacturers to bring production back to the U.S. But that’s easier said than done. Even companies that build domestically often rely on overseas components, making compliance a complex puzzle of supply chain engineering.

At the same time, the AI boom is creating a supply-side crisis in data center infrastructure. The industry isn’t struggling to find customers; it’s struggling to meet demand. Factories building rackable products—servers, power systems, networking equipment—are dealing with supply shortages, testing bottlenecks, and infrastructure constraints like inadequate power grids.

“The scale of investment in AI infrastructure is staggering,” says Wayne. “When you break it down into actual racks to be built, the numbers seem almost impossible.”

Selecting the Right Manufacturing Partner

For companies rethinking their supply chains, choosing the right CM is one of the most consequential decisions they’ll make. It’s also one of the easiest to get wrong.

“A lot of teams focus too much on cost,” warns Wayne. “But if you don’t understand how a CM structures their business model, you’re not actually making a data-driven decision.”

Cost is just one piece of the puzzle. Companies need to assess technical competency, regional expertise, financial stability, and alignment with their long-term strategy. Too often, teams fixate on initial quotes, only to be caught off guard by unforeseen markups, inefficiencies, or quality issues down the line.

Wayne’s approach to CM selection is systematic: Start broad, but narrow the list quickly.

• Begin with 10 potential partners, but rapidly reduce that to five serious contenders based on technical fit and business interest.
• Evaluate three vendors in-depth with detailed RFQs, quality assessments, and site visits.
• Downselect to two finalists, negotiating as if both will be the final choice before making a commitment.

Even after selection, oversight remains critical. “You can’t just assume a CM will maintain quality,” says Wayne. “You have to monitor, align incentives, and stay deeply engaged.”

The Hard Lessons of Factory Moves

Once a company selects a new manufacturing partner or site, the real challenge begins. One of the biggest mistakes companies make? Shutting down the original factory before the new one is fully operational.

“I see this mistake all the time,” says Wayne. “Teams think they’re saving money by transitioning quickly, but they’re introducing massive risk. There needs to be an overlap where both sites are running.”

Another frequent failure is underestimating the value of undocumented process knowledge. A company moving from the U.S. to Mexico, for example, might assume that simply replicating work instructions will ensure a smooth transition. But in reality, much of what makes a factory successful isn’t written down—it’s tribal knowledge built up over years of production.

Wayne advises companies to take a copy-exact approach—at least initially. “When you move production, keep everything the same: same suppliers, same processes, same components. Only once the new site is stable should you start making optimizations.”

The Challenge of Scaling Across Multiple Sites

Even when a second factory is up and running, challenges remain. Many companies find that identical products yield drastically different results at different sites—and diagnosing the root cause isn’t easy.

“One of the biggest mistakes companies make is trying to fix problems only at the struggling factory,” says Wayne. “Instead, they should be comparing data from both sites. If you understand what’s working at Site A and what’s failing at Site B, you can pinpoint the differences much faster.”

A common data set is critical for tracking quality, yield, and process deviations across sites. Standardized reporting templates, AI-driven analytics, and real-time inspection can help teams diagnose discrepancies before they become major bottlenecks.

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI Manufacturing

The AI manufacturing boom isn’t slowing down, and companies will need to rethink how they scale their production. One particularly thorny issue is rack-level manufacturing and cable routing.

“The number of interconnects in modern data centers is staggering,” says Wayne. “And a significant portion of failures come from cables that aren’t properly seated, torqued, or routed.”

Unlike traditional PCB manufacturing, where processes are tightly controlled and easily inspected, rack assembly is much more variable. Operators can route cables in technically correct but visually different ways, making automated inspection challenging. Emerging solutions—such as AI-driven inspection and humanoid robotics—could help standardize these processes, but the industry is still in its early days of solving these challenges.

Final Thoughts: Adaptation is Key

Electronics manufacturing is evolving rapidly, and companies that fail to adapt will struggle to keep up. Whether choosing a new factory location, selecting a CM, or scaling production, success hinges on having a clear strategy, deep process control, and a willingness to learn from past mistakes.

“There’s no perfect playbook,” says Wayne. “But there are ways to avoid common pitfalls and make smarter decisions. And in this industry, that can mean the difference between leading the market and falling behind.” You can get a full guide on moving your factory here.