market into individual customers, creating a demand for more
             customized PC configurations. This puts greater pressure on the entire supply chain to
             respond quickly to shifts in demand for particular components, peripherals and software,
             rather than just general product lines. Some PC companies have long outsourced much
             of the production process, relying on contract manufacturers (CMs) to produce
             subassemblies and complete products. Other companies such as Compaq, IBM, Apple,
             and Toshiba relied more on in-house production, including motherboard assembly
             (motherboard production often is the dividing line between manufacturing and simple
             assembly in PCs). In recent years, however, these PC makers have sold off board
             ...