Garmin 2010 Annual Report Download - page 30

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Gais fishfide/depth soude podut lies, Gai eliees that its piipal opetitos ae Loae,
Raymarine, the Huiid diisio of Johso Outdoos, I., ad Fuuo. Fo Gais geeal aiatio podut
lines, Garmin considers its principal competitors to be Honeywell, Inc., Avidyne Corporation, L-3 Avionics Systems,
Rockwell Collins, Inc., Sagem Avionics, Inc., Universal Avionics Systems Corporation, Chelton Flight Systems, Aspen
Avionics, and Free Flight Systems for panel-out GPS ad displa uits. Fo Gais Fail Radio Seie ad
General Mobile Radio Service product line, Garmin believes that its principal competitors are Motorola, Inc., Cobra
Electronics Corporation and Midland Radio Corporation.
Research and Development
Gais podut ioatios ae die  its stog ephasis o eseah ad deelopet ad the
close partnership betwee Gais egieeig ad aufatuig teas. Gais poduts ae eated  its
engineering and development staff, which numbered 2,340 people worldwide as of December 25, 2010. Gais
manufacturing staff includes manufacturing process engineers ho ok losel ith Gais desig egiees to
esue aufatuailit ad aufatuig ost otol fo its poduts. Gais deelopet staff iludes
industrial designers, as well as software engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and cartographic
egiees. Gai eliees the idustial desig of its poduts has plaed a ipotat ole i Gais suess.
Once a development project is initiated and approved, a multi-disciplinary team is created to design the product
and transition it into manufacturing.
Belo is a tale of Gais epeditues o eseah ad deelopet oe the last thee fisal eas.
December 25, December 26, December 27,
2010 2009 2008
($'s in thousands)
Research and development $277,261 $238,378 $206,109
Percent of net sales 10.3% 8.1% 5.9%
Manufacturing and Operations
Garmin believes that one of its core competencies and strengths is its manufacturing capability at its Sijhih,
Jhongli and LinKou, Taiwan facilities, its Olathe, Kansas facility, and its Salem, Oregon facility. Garmin believes that
its vertically integrated approach has provided it the following benefits with respect to all products other than the
legacy nüvifone products, which are manufactured by one or more third parties as part of the Garmin-Asus
strategic alliance, a few select marine products (VHF radios and AIS receivers), and our accessory products, all of
which are also manufactured by one or more third parties.
Reduced time-to-market. Utilizig ouet egieeig tehiues, Gais poduts ae itodued
to production at an early development stage and the feedback provided by manufacturing is incorporated into the
design before mass production begins. In this manner, Garmin attempts to reduce the time required to move a
product from its design phase to mass production deliveries.
Design and process optimization. Garmin uses its manufacturing resources to rapidly prototype design
concepts, products and processes in order to achieve higher efficiency, improved quality and yields, lower cost and
ette alue fo ustoes. Gais ailit to full eploe podut desig ad aufatuig poess oepts
has enabled it to optimize its designs to minimize size and weight in GPS devices that are functional, waterproof,
and rugged.
Logistical agility. Operating our own manufacturing facilities helps Garmin minimize problems, such as
component shortages and long component lead times which are common in the electronics industry. Many
products can be re-engineered to bypass component shortages or reduce cost and the new designs can be
delivered to market quickly. Garmin reacts rapidly to changes in market demand by striving to maintain a safety
stock of long-lead components and by rescheduling components from one product line to another. Operating our