Sony Ericsson denies supplier dispute

Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri reported today that the outsourcing of mobile production by Ericsson to US-based Flextronics had not succeeded in speeding up the rollout of new models, due to troubles with assembly instructions and testing procedures.

Citing "an inside source acquainted with the collaboration between the two companies", the article claimed that the agreement had not lived up to expectations and "if anything the chaos has intensified."

However, a spokesperson for Sony Ericsson said that, although there were some initial issues when the partnership was formed, they had been resolved and that they were "definitely going to be continuing to work together."

Prior to the amalgamation of its then loss-making phones business with that of Sony, Ericsson announced at the beginning of 2001 that it was pulling out of manufacturing its own devices, fully outsourcing production and transferring plants and staff to Flextronics in an attempt to cut costs.

At the time, the move was seen as an admission of defeat in the mobile market to arch rival Nokia, but the company's subsequent relationship with Sony appears at least to be going according to plan, with the firm announcing that it had reached breakeven in Q1 this year.

Despite any apparent delays in production, Sony Ericsson has also announced a number of new devices since its inception, including a range announced in March including features such as Java-based games, built-in digital cameras, MMS (multimedia messaging service) and colour screens.

In Europe, the company has brought out is T68i phone and plans to launch two more models, the P800 and Z700, in the autumn.

"www.sonyericssonmobile.com ":http://www.sonyericssonmobile.com

"22 April 2002: Ericsson quarterises itself again - UK to be hit ":http://www.netimperative.info/cmn/viewdoc.jsp?cat=all&ct=nw&docid=BEP1_News_0000009851