An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is a company that produces parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. For example, Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics company, manufactures parts and equipment for OEMs including Apple, Dell, Google, Huawei and Nintendo.
The term is also used in several other ways, which causes ambiguity. It sometimes means the maker of a system that includes other companies’ subsystems, an end-product producer, an automotive part that is manufactured by the same company that produced the original part used in the automobile’s assembly, or a value-added reseller.

ODM Service

An original design manufacturer (ODM) is a company that designs and manufactures a product, as specified, that is eventually rebranded by another firm for sale. Such companies allow the firm that owns or licenses the brand to produce products (either as a supplement or solely) without having to engage in the organization or running of a factory.
This model is especially used in international trade, where a local ODM is used to produce goods for a foreign company that sees some advantage in the transaction, such as low labor-inputs, transport links or proximity to markets. Innovative and/or patented technologies developed/owned by the ODM are another cause for this product distribution model. ODM models are also used where local ownership-laws possibly prohibit direct ownership of assets by foreigners, allowing a local firm to produce for a brand company – either for the domestic market or for export.