What does oem mean. We understand: original, OE, OEM, analogues and others. OEM software

Today it is customary to call an OEM such a form of industrial cooperation in which a manufacturing company manufactures a product, which will then be sold under the trademark of another brand owner.

In the material on global markets, the reasons for the special role of OEM in today's digital player market were noted. In general, the mechanism is as follows.

On the one hand, the low technological cost of an admission ticket to the market leads to the emergence of a huge number of manufacturing companies. In principle, there is no branding as such for them. On the other hand, the traditional leaders of the portable audio market, the owners of strong brands, have for a long time refrained from serious expansion in the MP3 direction. As a result, the market experienced overheating in manufacturing amid a branding vacuum. Since nature abhors a vacuum, countless companies rushed there, using existing brands or creating new ones. These companies do not have any production base, at least in the MP3 direction, their traditional field of activity, as a rule, is trade, distribution. Wanting to offer the consumer a product under their own brand, they turn to the capacities of manufacturing companies that do not have marketing resources to create and maintain brands. In recent years, these processes have been going on with an ever-increasing intensity. As a result, the number of trademarks created as a result of the alliance between an OEM-manufacturer and a brand-owner company today is comparable to the number of “honest” brands with their production.

General schemeMP3-market. Global companies with both production capacity and a recognizable brand cannot or do not want to meet all the demand. Companies with manufacturing facilities have the production ability to meet demand, but they do not have the ability to enter the consumer market directly. A branding black hole is emerging, attracting everyone who wants to make money in the market.

The anatomy of such "two-term" trademarks will be the task of today's material.

History of the term

Let's make a reservation that the use of the word "OEM" in its today's meaning is basically illiterate. But the rate of development of this phenomenon has greatly outstripped the rate of development of the conceptual apparatus for him. Therefore, there is a lot of confusion in terminology, there is no agreement on the use of certain designations. However, the words OEM, OEM, s-OEM are already in wide circulation, so we will use them for now.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer (-ing), that is, the manufacturer (production) of primary equipment. The term was used in the automotive industry to refer to the manufacturer of individual parts of an automobile, making them for the company that manufactures the final product. That is, an OEM company produces this or that equipment, which will then be included by the buying company into the finished product - a car and will be sold under the brand name of this buying company. Such a buying company is called a Value added reseller (VAR), that is, the seller who sells a value added product. This "added value / value" in this case is both assembly and branding.

In the computer industry, OEM has become a very popular form of cooperation, all computers today are assembled from assemblies manufactured by OEM companies. This is where the term "OEM" went to the masses. Individual nodes - computer components - manufactured in the framework of OEM-collaboration began to enter the retail market, where they gained popularity for their significantly lower price. The concept of "OEM-packaging" is firmly established in the vocabulary of the "advanced computer scientist".

And what will happen if an OEM-manufacturer begins to manufacture not only individual units, but the entire product as a whole? With the development of production facilities in Southeast Asia, this question has been increasingly asked by VAR companies. The transfer of the entire production process, from the procurement of raw materials to assembly, into the “wrong” hands has become an absolutely logical continuation of the specialization and outsourcing trends. Everyone should do what they do best. In the field of production today, better means cheaper. Therefore, the migration of production processes to regions with low production costs was lightning fast and unstoppable.

It is here that, previously clear and understandable, the term "OEM" began to rapidly "grow cloudy" and "fogged up", acquire new meanings and varieties.

The fact is that modern production is a complex and multi-stage process. It can be schematically divided into the following stages:

Marketing analysis of customer needs

Generating a new product idea

Formulation of the general terms of reference

Development of design and technical scheme (can go in different order), creation of a prototype

Testing, correcting bugs, creating a prototype suitable for mass production

Purchase of raw materials, units, components

Directly the production process

Product quality control, after-sales service

This chain does not take into account the research and development required to "keep the shape" of the R&D department so that it can come up with worthy ideas and concepts.

Any link in this chain can be outsourced, i.e. into the "wrong hands". For example, an OEM manufacturer can, in addition to manufacturing, purchase raw materials and equipment, and also "bring" a customer's prototype to a product suitable for mass production. And in addition, it can develop a technical diagram of the device according to the customer's specifications. Etc. As a result, the number of possible forms of cooperation between Value added reseller and OEM is very large. There is no official classification, which has given rise to many related terms such as ODM, CM, OIM, etc. There is no agreement on the use of these symbols. Let's try to give their approximate classification.

CM - Contract Manufacturing, contract manufacturing

This is the lowest level of involvement of the manufacturing company in the process. VAR independently develops a prototype for mass production, independently purchases raw materials and components, and carries out quality control. The manufacturer only provides production space and labor. The influence of the brand owner company on the production process is maximal. About the manufactured products, we can reasonably say that they have the quality of the VAR-company brand. Such a scheme is available either for large companies with experience in production, or for start-ups originally created for this scheme, with personnel with experience in organizing and controlling production, technical developments. So, most Korean companies use this particular scheme.

Example. Korean companyMaycom never had its own production facilities. Until 2005, all of its products, incl.MP3-players and voice recorders were produced under contract at Korean factories. Since 2005, in order to reduce costs, production has been moved to China, at the facilities of Shenzhen Gaoxinqi Technology, but it remained contractual. That is, Shenzhen Gaoxinqi Technology simply providesMaycom areas, equipment and labor, and procurement of components is carried out according to the list and at the expense ofMaycomHowever, this does not interfere with the company -CM-the manufacturer sometimes demonstrates products fromMaycom under their own logo - though not for sale, but only to demonstrate their capabilities as a contract manufacturer.

In the photo produced under the contractM- birdXZ-22

ODM - Original Device Manufacturing, that is, the production of primary products

With this form of cooperation, the manufacturer's involvement is greater - he independently purchases components and raw materials, independently carries out primary quality control. However, product development remains in the hands of the VAR company. Two types of ODM cooperation should be mentioned.

In the first case, the VAR company independently creates a prototype suitable for mass production.

In the second, she only gives a technical task and formulates design requirements. The development of the concept lies with the manufacturer's company.

In the first case, the participation of the brand-owner company is no less than in contract manufacturing, and the final product, accordingly, has all the characteristics of a “branded” one.

But in the second case, this is a more difficult question. Of course, a VAR company is unlikely to let a poor-quality, unusable scheme onto the conveyor. But is it possible to say about a product, the basic structure of which was developed by engineers of company X, that it is a product of company Y? It is difficult to give a definite answer here.

The first type of ODM cooperation is typical for many large companies, for example, for Apple, Sony. As a rule, these are companies with both good marketing potential and a high level of engineering base in the direction.

Example. Perhaps the most famous exampleVAR-company preferringODM scheme -AppleComputers... Her poolODM-the manufacturers is large enough and includes such large Taiwanese companies asAsustek, Foxconn, Inventec... So, for the production of 1GShuffle answeredAsustek, 1 Gnano - Foxconn, iPod -Foxconn, Inventec.

CompaniesFoxconn failed to remain in the shadows: lately there have been a series of publications accusing her of unbearable working conditions for workers in a production factoryiPod (so-callediPod- city) - photo www.mailonsunday.co.uk

The second type is preferable if the company has a good marketing apparatus and an experienced industrial design department, but does not want to create a separate engineering and design unit for a narrow direction, for example, MP3 players. According to some reports, Philips, for example, adheres to this scheme, although this information may be inaccurate.

Example. Until recently, the companyPhilips owned the most powerful semiconductor production and, among other things, produced platforms for digital players. These platforms were highly respected as they were used by leading manufacturersMP3-players -iriver andMPIO... Surprisingly,MP3-player marketed under the brand namePhilips these platforms themselves did not use, but were built on the basis of solutions fromSigmatel orPortalPlayer... This gives serious reasons to suspect that the development of these devices is not engagedPhilips, and a Singaporean manufacturing companyEastech, and the Dutch corporation only gives a general technical task.

Chips from the formerPhilips can be found in Chinese products includingBBK, Meizu, but not in players sold under the brand namePhilips (a photoimp3. net)

VAR companies often outsource production processes in parts. So, almost all Korean companies, with the exception of MPIO, order the design of their products from third-party firms, and this is the secret of a good design of their devices. This kind of cooperation goes well with CM or ODM - only two narrow specialized areas remain in the hands of a VAR company: branding and engineering.

The division of labor in the production of a typical Korean digital player

Example. Korean companyCowon- iAudio uses the services of a Korean design studioDadamdesign... This firm creates designs for models fromCowon, starting with its very first model, whileCowon- iAudio - far from the only clientDadam, you can name, for example, a developerPMP KoreanMaxian, its designMP-2220 also designedDadam... You can even see common motives iniAudio 5 andMP-2220, for example, covering the bezel with a thin layer of transparent plastic.

iAudio 5on the siteDadam design

OEM

In addition to referring to the phenomenon in general, the term OEM is also used in a narrower sense, to refer to one of its forms. If in the previous two forms the VAR company was actively involved in product development, then the scheme called OEM implies that the manufacturer independently carries out the entire chain of development and production processes, from analyzing customer needs to quality control. Only marketing remains for the VAR company - branding, distribution, advertising. Her participation in the production is purely symbolic. One can, of course, say that a VAR-company with a good reputation will not sell a product under its own brand that does not meet a certain level of consumer characteristics. But if you approach it formally, then the product sold under the brand name of the company-owner in this case cannot be called its product - it was both developed and produced by another company. With this form of cooperation, the entrance ticket for a VAR company is very cheap: all it needs to do to enter the market is to come up with a brand concept and find a supplier. It is not surprising that brands of this type in quantitative terms occupy a significant part of the market today.

Example. CompanyIxing - the result of Korean cooperationTechnoniaInc. in charge of development and Yusan Industries LTD in charge of production. Their latest product is the familyTM- S: TM- S1, TM- S2 andTM- S3, inspired byiPodnano... Three types of case design were prudently developed - "in reserve". Due to the weakness of the marketing department and the company's unreadiness to search for foreign buyers, a partner was found - the companySafa... The latter, although it had many years of experience in developing digital players on its own, did not disdain its successful design. So the model was bornSafaSS110. But enterprising employeesSafa did not stop there and resold the model to the GermanMaxfield... So it appearedMaxSin, OEM fromOEM-and. And for the third, least successful design option, the search for a buyer is still ongoing.

"Faces"TM- S

Types of OEM brands

There are several types of OEM brands in the digital player market.

First type - companies from other, often completely different, markets that have their own production and history there, but decided to add MP3-players to their assortment as an assortment product. This can be done for promotional purposes, the players here act as souvenirs, gifts.

Example. CompanyDisney cannot be accused of having a long tradition in the design and manufacture of portable audio equipment. Nevertheless,MP3-players under this brand are present on the market, in particularMP4 playerMixMax... Moreover, in this case, there is not a "clean"OEM, but ratherODMThis can be said by the characteristic shape of the navigation key.

DisneyMixMax

There may also be a desire to extract additional value from your brand. The number of such companies cannot be counted, it seems that only a lazy brand has not yet acquired "its" MP3-player. Moreover, most of these companies have a well-deserved and significant reputation; products under their brands are usually taken seriously and with interest. Hence, situations arise when the media pay a fair amount of attention to an ordinary, uninteresting device from a "leading manufacturer" purchased under an OEM agreement, ignoring a truly interesting, original development of a little-known company.

Example. Once in Europe, Americans are surprised to learn that the companyTeacturns out to "produce"MP3-players. And getting after that in Korea or China, they are even more surprised to see these models under completely different names.

TEACMP-400, he isMuroMP-200. As the name suggests, Europeans rate this model 200 points higher than Koreans.

However, sometimes such cooperation makes the manufacturer really take an interest in the MP3 market and later come up with independent developments there.

Example. CompanySandisk started herMP3-business withOEM-cooperation with a Korean companyCenix... However, seeing the potential of the market, she quickly switched toODM scheme, having switched to independent development of devices, and now it is rapidly moving towards becoming a global player inMP3-market.

SanDisk Digital Audio Playerhethe sameCenix MP-480

The key feature of this type is that it has its own production facilities or at least its own research and development department, focused, however, not on players, but on other products or areas of activity.

Second type can be called zombie brands. These are respected brands, often with a long history of in-house development. But at some stage, they completely curtailed production, and more often than not, they changed the owner. Now all that remains of them is the logo under which products purchased under the OEM scheme are sold. The new owners of the trademark, of course, do not inform the end customer about this, but, on the contrary, loudly shout about the centuries-old quality traditions, etc. This is the most dishonest OEM scheme, bordering on fraud. In most cases, brand owners want to get the most out of them, as a result, players are only part of a wide product umbrella of heterogeneous products.

Example 1. CompanyAkai as a high-end audio equipment manufacturer from Japan passed away a long time ago. Nevertheless, postmortem she continues to produce various products, includingMP3-players, which have a distinctly Chinese "touch".

Akai MP-5600EDhethe same Luxpro EZShare

Example 2. CompanyMpman was an inventorMP3-player. Today, under her trademark, Chinese-made low-grade products are sold on the European market. At the same time, from the slogan “InventorsMP3-player ”brand owners do not refuse.

Third type - new brands created specifically for OEM projects. Unlike the first two types, such brands cannot enjoy the reputation and fame gained for past merits, their owners must start everything from scratch. These brands can be called the most honest, their reputation and success are completely determined by a balanced selection of suppliers, a competent marketing policy. There are also umbrella brands, where MP3 players are just one of the names, and specialized MP3 brands. In most countries, these brands have achieved tangible success.

Example. CompanyTrekstor has achieved tangible success in Germany, selling a wide range of Chinese and Korean devices under its brand name. Reasonable selection of the product line, original and intensive marketing made the brandTrekstor a significant player both in Germany and in a number of Eastern European countries.

"DearestMP3-player in the world "TrekstorOrganixGoldhe isi- bead 400 in another building

Alternative classifications

The above classification can be criticized. The point is that there is no single agreement on the use of the terms OEM and ODM. They very often change places, and OEM means what we described as ODM and vice versa. It's hard to figure out how to use all of this terminology correctly. these abbreviations have long been torn away from their original meaning and have taken on a life of their own. We use the most popular option, as ordinary Asian companies understand it: OEM - “we put your trademark on our finished product”, and ODM - “we will do what you want”. Although for many of them the phrase "OEM / ODM welcome" has already turned into a meaningless spell for attracting customers, the meaning of which they do not think about.

In other variants of terminology there is the concept of OIM - Original Idea Manufacturing, the production of a primary idea. A somewhat awkward term that should separate self-development of product ideas and offerings of turnkey solutions from ODM production, i.e. production according to the requests of the customer company. In principle, OIM can be called a synonym for OEM in the meaning in which it was given above.

	Option 1	Option 2
The manufacturer carries out the entire production chain from idea generation to product quality control	OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing)	OIM (Original Idea Manufacturing)
VAR-company gives a general technical task, the manufacturer develops the product design and implements the production process		ODM (Original Device Manufacturing)
VAR-company fully develops the product design, the manufacturer is only responsible for the production process	ODM (Original Device Manufacturing)	OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) or EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services)

Options for classifying the types of cooperation between manufacturers and resellers. The second option is more correct, but the first is more common.

Motives of VAR companies

The motives pushing companies to CM or ODM cooperation are understandable - this is a reduction in the cost of production. It is more difficult for an ordinary consumer to understand the motives of companies going to cooperate under an OEM scheme. Why do they prefer to invest in the creation of a new brand, rather than purchase goods under the manufacturer's brand? One of the reasons is the weakness of manufacturers' brands. They, as a rule, have discordant sounding names, nondescript logos, lack of corporate identity, ideas.

Example. As a rule, the names of Chinese trade standards are either dissonant and difficult to pronounce in European languages, or they are “modified” copies of the names of famous brands, and sometimes they are just ridiculous.

On the other hand, they are so primarily because manufacturers know that the buyer would prefer to put their own “brand” on the product. They only need their brands as an example.

Sometimes the "brand" of the manufacturer can be like this

The main reason for the attractiveness of creating "own" bernds is different. It gives the company complete control over the product, ensuring that it does not appear from competing companies. The importance of this factor is difficult to overestimate: in the conditions of such a limited monopoly, the company can control the level of profitability, and this can significantly improve its financial position. Another important opportunity: the selection of the most successful models from many manufacturers and their inclusion in a single, wide product range of their brand. A narrow, unbalanced product line is a problem for most small Asian suppliers. OEM provides an opportunity to bypass it. Thus, your own brand becomes a tool that allows you to get a high level of sales in a short time with a high profit margin.

Why is this especially true for digital players? As we noted earlier, the reason for this is the brand vacuum, the limited competitive offer from traditional suppliers. This creates a greenhouse climate for OEM brands, contributes to their emergence and development.

Dynamics of cooperation between manufacturers and resellers

The picture in the CM-ODM-OEM market is not static. VAR companies often switch from one form of cooperation to another: losing interest in any direction, they switch from CM to ODM and even OEM, leaving more and more "worries" in the hands of the manufacturing company.

Example. French-AmericanRCA-Thomson with your brandLyra was among the pioneers of the digital player market. However, today most of its assortment isOEM-products.

RCA M5002andMSI P610

Conversely, as interest in a product grows, brand owners can take on more and more, moving in the opposite direction, from OEM to ODM and even CM (see above about Sandisk).

On the other hand, what CM-manufacturer doesn't dream of acquiring its own brand and getting full profit from its product? Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies even came up with their abbreviation for this - OBM, Own Brand Manufacturing, production for their brand. The path of any ambitious Asian company is from CM through ODM and OEM to OBM. This is how new trademarks appear, which have rich experience in development and production in their luggage.

Example.AVConceptHoldingsLimited, former production partneririver went fromCM- manufacturer to brand ownerSigneo, not the latest brand in the Japanese market. Now they themselves act asVAR-reseller and purchased atOEM conditions of products of Chinese and Korean companies

First steps in brandingAVConcept made back in 2001-2002: trade markSoulunder which in individual markets were soldCD- MP3-player developmentiriver

The moral aspect of the problem

For the average consumer, the presence of a company's trademark on a product should still mean that the product is designed and manufactured by that company. CM or ODM production is already causing him distrust: the fact that a Japanese, German or American company is placing direct production in the hands of "some Chinese" is perceived as evil, although now it is inevitable. The fact that if this product were made in Japan, Germany or the United States, then, perhaps, the buyer would not have enough money to purchase it, he does not care. The fact that, unlike the Chinese, neither he, nor the Japanese, Europeans or Americans will work for $ 10 a month, which makes production in these territories unprofitable, he does not want to know. The buyer will say that corporations are doing all this only for the sake of their profits and will be right. True, he does not think that the companies receive this profit by making more sales by offering him goods at a lower price.

Would a customer dissatisfied with the "Chinese" quality want to change places with her?

It should not be forgotten that a rare company blindly adheres to one scheme. In the assortment of many, including global brands, you can find products made according to the ODM scheme and OEM products.

Example. SingaporeanCreative is among the leaders in the developmentMP3-players, which does not prevent her from sometimes resorting toOEM-cooperation. So the modelSF-3700 from a Korean companySorell purchasedCreative onOEM conditions and was sold under the nameMuvoVidz

The consequence of this is the final confusion of the buyer. Sometimes the different level of products sold under the same trademark, the lack of a manufacturer's and developer's style in individual models is too obvious. Brand credibility is eroding. This situation is even more complicated than just a general drop in quality, since some of the names may have a high level of consumer characteristics, and some clearly “fall short”. The reputation of the brand suffers from this, as even the notorious "ordinary buyer" begins to guess that the business is unclean.

However, when some consumers lose confidence in brands, they begin to look closely at the objective characteristics, look for reviews of those who bought the product - in general, think that this is a positive process.

If CM and ODM, that is, the most "honest" ways of organizing the production and sales chain today, cause negative emotions in the consumer, then what about OEM? Naturally, not a single company will honestly say to his face: “Yes, we ourselves do not develop or manufacture anything, we are just a trading company, owners of a trademark. We purchased these products from suppliers from Southeast Asia, trying to choose the most worthy of them. We put our brands on them so you can trust their quality, which we monitor. " For an ordinary buyer, this concept is too confusing, it will not inspire confidence in him. Hence the need for direct deception. In countries with a rich tradition of consumer electronics, brand owners may refer to themselves as local manufacturers.

Example... Neonumeric calls himself "marqueFrancaise"(French trade mark), and the question of the nationality of developers and manufacturers is neatly bypassed. However, design & technologie is its slogan.

Neo SafaLCDhethe same Safa SR-M800F.An interesting touch in the psychology of European resellers - they often include brand names of manufacturers in the names of their models

For other states, the lie goes further. A brand is assigned the nationality of a country whose products are trusted by the population: Western European, Japan, USA, Korea. In order to avoid prosecution, such a shell company may indeed be registered in this state.

The reseller is not able to completely eliminate the leakage of information about the real state of affairs. While the OEM usually grants the reseller the exclusive sale of the model under which the agreement is made, it is almost always limited to the market in one or more countries. In other countries, this model will be sold under other trademarks. In the conditions of modern information transparency, this fact sooner or later becomes known to a certain number of users. In addition, sometimes overlaps occur, and a model from a foreign market enters the domestic one, having the design and characteristics of a VAR reseller model, but a different brand. In addition, a prudent manufacturer often makes several design options for the case in order to "milk" the same market two or more times, this also does not escape the attentive buyer.

Example. For your modelTuny 8 Korean companyDynetel made two versions of the case, one with touch control, the other with a conventional one. In some countries, these variants were sold under different brand names.

There are also cases of fraud when a manufacturer violates agreements and sells the same model on OEM terms to several buyers at the same time. All this makes the reseller brand very vulnerable to black PR. Competitive companies often make efforts to bring his "clean water", he responds in kind. Thus, the concept of an OEM brand, which does not contain anything immoral in itself, is densely entwined with a web of lies and scandals. As a result, there is often an unhealthy atmosphere around OEM brands.

How can you distinguish an OEM brand from a "real" brand?

First, in most cases, OEM brands are geographically limited. If a search on the Internet does not find products of this brand on sale abroad, this is a reason for suspicion.

Example. If the players are under the brand nameeDesign difficult to find outside the United Kingdom, it is logical to assume that this brand is of local origin. Taking into account the recent successes of the English electronic industry in the field of player construction, we can conclude that we haveOEM-brand.

Secondly, the models of the original manufacturers usually have some kind of unifying idea, continuity in the interface, design. If the devices under the brand name are absolutely different from each other, this is also a reason for suspicion.

Thirdly, original manufacturers rarely have a wide range of models - they simply do not have enough resources for this. If there are more than 3-4 models in the company's lineup, then this is also a reason for suspicion.

Example. A wide and varied product range of FrenchInovix not only attracts the buyer, but also serves as an indicator that in front of him -OEM-brand

Finally, there are other indicators, such as the names of the firmware files, the registration of a supposedly official website with a local distribution company, and the extremely energetic and angry denial of the OEM by the company's representatives. Under special suspicion are firms claiming origin from countries not marked by advances in portable electronics in recent years: UK, Germany, France, Japan, USA.

The main thing to remember is that OEM itself is not evil. In fact, it is just a distribution method. The media often blames OEM brand owners for poor service support and a tendency to suddenly disappear, leaving the user alone with the purchased product and its possible malfunctions. But today the original manufacturer can easily disappear at one moment - this has already affected large companies such as Rio Audio, what can we say about small Korean firms! So in terms of reliability and quality of service, there is no particular difference between an OEM brand and an original manufacturer, the former are even sometimes preferable because of the large resources behind them.

However, knowledge of the original manufacturer often allows you to learn more about the product, the timing of the release of new firmware, the nuances of its use. For some, it offers the chance to become a member of the global device user community. Therefore, for an "advanced" user, the search for such is a justified occupation.

Studying the prices of stores, mainly selling computer components and software, we all come across a prefix after completely identical names - OEM or RTL (Retail). And the prices in these lines can vary significantly. What do you pay or sacrifice for? Let's try to figure it out.

OEM (Original equipment manufacturer) in the official version - designation by the manufacturer of the fact of assembling a product based on third-party projects and components created by other companies. In fact, for the Russian market, the abbreviation OEM symbolizes the minimum configuration, intended in theory for assemblers of products and further implementation. As a rule, in Russian retail chains, OEM products are on display next to RTL.

Retail - in translation from English it is “retail trade”. The abbreviation RTL means that the product is completely ready for use by the end user. In many countries, only this form is allowed for sale in retail outlets.

Since our market is not so scrupulous, let's look at both of these options for the sake of assessing the benefits of the buyer, that is, you and me. The OEM supply is very modest: an antistatic package for components or electronics (at most - a disc with drivers is added), or, in the case of software, a paper envelope with a carrier (the same optical disc, most often). RTL delivery is more generous, although generosity is a relative concept. But, at least, there is a box, instructions, a minimum set of accessories such as cables, bolts and adapters, depending on the type of product. If the product in the box is no longer OEM, so the absence of something necessary and important in the kit is on the manufacturer's conscience.

Winchester. OEM

The manufacturer's price for OEM and RTL is set differently, so we also see price tags on the windows, sometimes significantly different from each other. Thus, we pay for the box and a certain kind of ease of use. RTL is more expensive by default.

As a rule, the manufacturer does not give a warranty for OEM deliveries or gives it on special terms. These obligations are shifted to the shoulders of collectors and trade organizations. With regard to software, the developer provides technical support, but license agreements are often valid only for a single installation option. Transferring OEM licenses is prohibited in most cases. Retail deliveries are much more loyal to the consumer in this respect.

It may also be significant for the end consumer that an OEM delivery, due to the lack of strong packaging, may more often be damaged through the fault of the carrier. In addition, it is worth taking into account the Russian realities, where OEM is very often given out rejection or repaired in service.

Conclusions site

OEM is always cheaper, the price difference can be up to 40%.
OEM is not intended for the end user, but this is ignored in the Russian market.
RTL is much more complete.
RTL carries a manufacturer's warranty and favorable licensing terms.
In theory, the possibility of defects in the OEM supply is higher.

Hello everyone today I will tell you how OEM differs from Retail delivery. Studying the prices of stores, mainly selling computer components and software, we all come across a prefix after completely identical names - OEM or RTL (Retail). And the prices in these lines can vary significantly. What do you pay or sacrifice for? Let's try to figure it out.

Since our market is not so scrupulous, let's look at both of these options for the sake of assessing the benefits of the buyer, that is, you and me. The OEM supply is very modest: an antistatic package for components or electronics (maximum - a disc with drivers is added), or, in the case of software, a paper envelope with media (the same optical disc, most often). RTL delivery is more generous, although generosity is a relative concept. But, at least, there is a box, instructions, a minimum set of accessories such as cables, bolts and adapters, depending on the type of product. If the product in the box is no longer OEM, so the absence of something necessary and important in the kit is on the manufacturer's conscience.

Outcome

OEM is always cheaper, the price difference can be up to 40%.
OEM is not intended for the end user, but this is ignored in the Russian market.
RTL is much more complete.
RTL carries a manufacturer's warranty and favorable licensing terms.
In theory, the possibility of defects in the OEM supply is higher.

These are the differences between OEM and Retail.

In the retail market of computer components and software of the post-Soviet space, the abbreviation "OEM", for a number of reasons, acquired its own special - marketing and everyday - meaning, and was entrenched there among consumers and sellers, becoming traditional: in this sense, it is a version product, goods supplied by the manufacturer in the minimum required configuration and supplied in this form to the retail trade. At the same time, the product is not focused on the end consumer, and the direct manufacturer does not provide its support - the warranty obligations (or their absence) and their volume are taken (or not taken) by retailers at their discretion. In the case of software version "OEM" and retail may differ significantly in terms of license agreements. So called "OEM products" usually supplied without accompanying materials and additional components, in packaging without decoration, which guarantees only their safe transportation. Due to smaller dimensions, minimal equipment and reduced manufacturer's costs for marketing solutions "OEM products" are obtained 10-40% cheaper than products intended for retail sale (so-called retail).

I.e "OEM version" goods are actually components supplied in the form intended for industrial manufacturers (actually OEM), but sold in the retail network.

In some countries retail "OEM products" - products intended for OEM (that is, manufacturers, not consumers) - is prohibited.

Automotive

In the automotive industry, OEM usually means manufacturers of structurally complex auto components (units, assemblies). These auto parts are supplied to vehicle assembly plants (e.g. Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai). The assembly plant assembles, welds, paints and receives a finished car from ready-made assemblies and components. In this case, the main developer of all parts and assemblies is, as a rule, OEM. He himself controls the quality, timing and quantity of parts and assemblies supplied in turn by his own suppliers.