How JDM works
In a JDM project the brand usually keeps the parts of the design that define the product: the requirements, industrial design, user experience, choice of key components and often the software that runs on top. The manufacturer takes on detailed engineering, such as electrical and mechanical design for its processes, firmware bring-up, test development and certification support, and then produces the product.
The term is most often heard in high-volume categories such as notebooks, phones and tablets, where brands work with large design manufacturers. Smaller programs use the same arrangement, frequently without the name: a startup that gives its industrial design and requirements to a factory with an in-house engineering team is in a JDM arrangement whether or not anyone calls it that.
Where JDM sits
| OEM | JDM | ODM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who designs | Brand | Brand and manufacturer | Manufacturer |
| Typical starting point | Complete design package | Requirements, industrial design, architecture | Existing platform |
| Brand’s engineering effort | High | Medium | Low |
| Room to differentiate | Full | High | Limited |
| Ownership of the design | Brand | Negotiated, area by area | Mostly manufacturer |
| Effort to change factory | Lower | Medium to high | High |
The part to get right: ownership
JDM creates new design work jointly, so ownership has to be divided deliberately. A workable development agreement usually distinguishes:
- Background IP: what each party brings, such as the manufacturer’s reference designs, firmware libraries or test platforms. Each side typically keeps its own and licenses the other to use what the product needs.
- Foreground IP: what is created during the project. State which party owns the schematics, PCB layout, mechanical CAD, firmware source and test software, and what license the other party has.
- Deliverables: which files the brand receives at each milestone and in which formats, including native CAD and source code, not only PDFs and binaries.
- Exit rights: what the brand may take to another manufacturer, any license fee that applies, and whether the manufacturer may reuse the work for other customers.
Settle these terms before engineering starts, and back them with a confidentiality agreement such as an NNN agreement where the work is in China. Ownership negotiated after DVT, when the product depends on the manufacturer’s files, is negotiated from a weak position.
When JDM is a good fit
- Your team is strong on product definition and industrial design but short of electrical, firmware or manufacturing engineering capacity.
- No ODM platform meets your requirements closely enough, but a full in-house design would take longer than you can afford.
- The manufacturer has engineering depth you need, for example in radio design, battery systems or a particular chipset.
It fits less well when the core technology is your main asset and you cannot share its design, or when you plan to build with two factories from the start.
Questions to ask a JDM partner
- Who will work on the project, and are they employees or contractors?
- Which existing designs will you reuse, and on what license terms?
- How are design reviews run, and how are requirement changes priced?
- What does the handover package contain if production moves?
Common mistakes
- Running a JDM project under a purchase agreement written for OEM production, which says nothing about jointly created design.
- Accepting a low NRE without noticing what it costs elsewhere. Some manufacturers offset low NRE with a claim on the design or exclusive production rights.
- Letting the manufacturer’s engineers become the only people who understand the design, with no documentation flowing back.
Where Zefinity helps
Zefinity helps teams choose between OEM, JDM and ODM routes, find OEM/ODM partners with the engineering depth a joint project needs, and set milestones and deliverables. See Develop: prepare your product for manufacturing for product definition and technical advisory, and Connect for partner selection.
Frequently asked questions
Is JDM the same as ODM?
No. In an ODM project the manufacturer brings a finished or nearly finished design and the brand customizes it. In a JDM project the brand contributes substantial design work, usually product definition and industrial design, and the two develop the product together. Ownership of the result is therefore shared or negotiated rather than resting mainly with the manufacturer.
Who owns the IP in a JDM project?
Whatever the agreement says. Commonly each party keeps the IP it brought to the project, and newly created work is either split by area or assigned to the brand, sometimes in exchange for higher NRE. Without written terms, ownership can be unclear, and resolving it once the product depends on the manufacturer's files is slow and expensive.