Electronic components are the building blocks of the current advances in technology. Two of the most significant advances are AI and blockchain. Both these technologies will have an impact on the electronic component supply chain.
Every company that relies on a supply of electronic components has to manage component obsolescence: the inevitable day when the original manufacturer sets a date for end of life, that is, for production to cease. Here’s why it happens.
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.
There are a vast number of suppliers selling up-to-date electronic components, but every day we help companies solve problems by supplying the obsolete components they need. Why do they buy these from us?