The world supply of electronic components has gone from stable, to critical shortages, to over-stocking, in the space of a few years. COVID triggered the shortages, and the shortages triggered an over-reaction. Many major companies now acknowledge that they are holding too large an inventory of parts, and that this is restricting their ability to increase their earnings. Money that could go on product development, or optimising production, is tied up in components that are sitting, unused, in a warehouse.
One of the problems we solve for our customers is helping manufacturers keep production going when an essential component becomes obsolete. The underlying reason for the problem is quite simple: the life-cycle of the finished product is often much longer than the life-cycle of the components it relies on.