Taiwan-based handset ODMs are stepping up efforts to solicit orders from regional brand vendors in India and Southeast Asia in order to keep their growth momentum, according to sources at Taiwan's handset supply chain.

Previously, Taiwan-based ODMs were targeting only international brands for orders up to several million units in order to generate enough profits.

However, these ODMs are now able to yield profits based on orders that may reach only hundreds of thousands units thanks to the maturation of handset platforms and homogenization of parts and components that have helped reduce production costs, said the sources.

Additionally, brand vendors in India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are used to accept OEM models from handset suppliers and then label these models with their own brands for marketing without requiring too much of customized specifications.

Meanwhile, international brand handset vendors have also been reducing the amount of their orders per model to 1-2 million units instead of 3-5 million placed previously due to keen competition among brands and shortened product life cycles. Therefore, orders from international brands have become less favored by handset ODMs, the sources added.