As you're likely already aware, the electronics industry is currently facing a major, worldwide components shortage. COVID-19 shutdowns and increased chip demand, among other factors, have created a bottleneck in the component supply chain which is set to last into 2022 and could remain until 2023. Here's an update on how the component shortages are affecting our services and some concrete steps you can take as a response.
In addition to making it much more difficult to source certain parts, these bottlenecks have introduced complications that make it more difficult to reliably ship orders on time:
Some good news is that smaller quantities of parts are generally easier for us to source. Due to this, our prototype service has been much less affected; the majority of prototype volume orders are still shipping on time.
This shortage is mostly out of control. However, here is our advice on a few things you can do to help alleviate some of its affects.
We know this is not always possible, but if you can we highly recommend factoring extra time into your production schedule. When planning out your inventory needs for the next year, it's better to assume that a delay is likely.
If you have time sensitive orders, please let us know as soon as you place the order so we can do our best to make accommodations. The earlier you communicate your needs with us, the more likely it is we will be able to work with your schedule.
If you have any components in your design that you know that cannot be substituted or are at risk of going out of stock, we recommend purchasing them in bulk ahead of time.
We've recently seen our customers coming up with some innovative solutions to help ensure they can get their designs manufactured. We wanted to share them in case you can also utilize them:
We know this has been a frustrating period for many of those trying to get things made. We're trying our best to notify customers of part shortages and shipping delays as soon as we are made aware of them. If you have any questions about the components shortage and how it may affect orders placed with us feel free to reach out.
For further components shortage information we recommend checking out the following episodes of our podcast:
Our interview with Digi-Key regarding the parts shortage
How our account management team can help you plan for your project needs
Here's our design suggestions for what you can do to make the pick and place go smoother for your CM, which will in turn improve yields and potentially also lower lead times and cost.
In episode 19, we focused on the different types of depanelization methods that can be used during assembly. In this episode, we take a deeper dive into panelization, how we decide what panelization methods and sizes to use, and how this informs depanelization.
In this episode, which might just be our nerdiest one yet, we are joined by Sam Feller, aka The Awkward Engineer. First and foremost he would like everyone to know that he is the awkward one, the engineering is top notch.
