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OEM (original equipment manufacturer)

Definition

OEM (original equipment manufacturer)

This confusing term has two meanings:

1) Originally, an OEM (original equipment manufacturer)REG was a company that supplied equipment to other companies to resell or incorporate into another product using the reseller's brand name. For example, a maker of refrigerators like Frigidaire might sell its refrigerators to a retailer like Sears to resell under a brand name owned by Sears. A number of companies, both equipment suppliers and equipment resellers, still use this meaning.

2) More recently, OEM is used to refer to the company that acquires a product or component and reuses or incorporates it into a new product with its own brand name.

Also see value-added reseller (VAR), a similar term applied to the repackaging of software.

Related glossary terms: tier 2 vendor, backside bus, administrator code, solution provider, fair and reasonable price, partner specialization, channel conflict, partner portal, sales certification, broad agency announcement (BAA)

This was last updated in July 2007

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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