OEMs & CMs Should Collaborate to Face Inflation Head-On with More Innovative Consolidated Buying Strategies
Over the past several years, the procurement landscape for OEMs has changed dramatically. Inflationary pressures have grown at an alarming rate, contributing to a marked increase in marketplace instability.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions across the supply chain. For example, a shortage of semiconductors affected entire markets—one industry, automotive manufacturing, had to significantly reduce its production because the chips on which modern vehicles depend simply weren’t available in the required volumes. The natural result of that scarcity was a substantial rise in semiconductor prices.
Even as the pandemic began to abate, the general consumer marketplace was experiencing levels of inflation not seen for decades—by January of 2022 the Consumer Price Index had risen to an annualized rate of 7.5%.
Pivoting the Electronics Industry to Design for Supply
Sprawling global supply chain shortages and hyper-competitive sourcing ecosystems are forcing electronic product engineers to redesign critical products, extend lead times and design cycles, and grapple with procurement headaches that bog down creativity, innovation, and quality. For many, the approach so far has been to hunker down and get through it.
Let’s talk about what the electronics manufacturing industry can do to address the headaches around increased lead times, redesigns, and the other issues surrounding sourcing/procurement and supply chain shortages.
How to Prevent Supply Chain Disruption Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
As a supply chain professional, you know that the only certainty you can plan for is uncertainty. You need to have the tools to accommodate any disruptions in your supply chain.
Here’s how you can lessen the impact of supply chain disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.