But there's a region that's quietly growing against the trend: Central and Eastern Europe.

Having spent the past year visiting 20+ EMS companies across Europe as an EMS Expert at Luminovo, and having previously run a small EMS in Hungary myself, I've seen something that the industry reports don't capture.

EMS in Central Europe are smart. They are hungry, agile, and increasingly more technologically bold, while retaining the region’s geographical and economic advantages.

This talk is about how Central Europe can turn that momentum into lasting success. I'll cover the global EMS status quo, why near-shoring and structural advantages give CEE a real shot at winning, and what "winning" actually requires: a combination of Industry 4.0 automation, Industry 5.0 human-AI collaboration, and modern digital supply chain infrastructure.

Being such a solution, Luminovo covers everything from AI-powered BOM cleaning, through multi-dimensional part risk management, powerful sourcing automations driving time & material cost savings, to next-gen manufacturing costing and end-to-end connected project workflows.

I'll share real success stories from the region who have already transformed their operations. These are companies I personally work with now as their Customer Success Manager.

Then, I'll close with a bold statement: software and automation are the minimum. What Central Europe truly needs is more collaboration to win as a bloc, not just as individual companies. I would like to make the call for the CEE region to stand tall together.