Supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing will continue in 2022, posing critical opportunities for resiliency.
Though late 2021 reports from IC Insights and other industry sources indicated that discrete manufacturing was looking up, we see that discrete manufacturers are certainly not immune from supply chain challenges in the first quarter of 2022. With changing cost differentials, we anticipate that pricing will present a top concern this year. Other worries include demand forecasting and ensuring quality. How can you prepare to navigate these roadblocks? Examining supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing through the lens of excess components offers a way forward in a challenging economic environment.
Four questions frame the state of current affairs. Let’s take a look:
Is change the new norm — are we looking at a new constant state?
Global events continue to have an outsize impact discrete manufacturing supply chains. For example, earthquakes in Japan halting chip production, inflation, and global uncertainty around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have made supply chain planning even more difficult.
A recent United States government report states that contract manufacturers and OEMs have only enough inventory for 5 days of supply, which demonstrates the scope of the problem. (For comparison, the 2019 average was 40 days of supply in inventory.) In addition, demand for chips was 17% higher in 2021 than it was in 2019, without commensurate increases in supply, reflecting a massive gap in supply and demand.
So, in short, yes — we anticipate continued market irregularity in response to ongoing global factors.
Can demand forecasting ease supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing?
Unfortunately, not really in the current climate. Today’s market is highly volatile, demanding flexibility and resiliency. Demand forecasting past 6 months is largely speculative in such conditions.
Customers are placing orders with discrete manufacturers in response to shortages and long lead times, driving up demand. And with costs going up for materials and labor, pricing to meet this demand is a major concern. This all muddles the power of demand forecasting in this particularly volatile environment.
How is the market responding to supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing?
As we build into 2022, discrete manufacturers are taking the temperature of a volatile market and pacing accordingly. On the excess side, many are proceeding with caution. Overall we see discrete manufacturers holding onto supply, whereas in mid-2021 they were releasing.
There are a few reasons behind pulling back from sending excess components to the market at this point. Currently, we see a lot of discrete manufacturers observing uncertain market conditions and holding tight to excess supply in response.
In contrast, some discrete manufacturers are embracing this volatility as an opportunity to let go of excess components and generate revenue. They see the upsides in moving components now versus waiting.
For example, one of the current supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing is long lead times. When you need 18 parts to complete your product, but there is a 52-week lead-time to make the product, selling the inventory as excess and moving on becomes an immediately profitable option.
Are there any straightforward solutions for easing uncertainty for discrete manufacturers?
If demand forecasting is speculative and change dominates the current market, how should discrete manufacturers proceed? The correct response is not a one-size-fits-all solution but a carefully tailored strategy based on your unique and sensitive financial situation.
Generating revenue in the current economic climate is a delicate balance of reducing inventory costs while managing supply chain uncertainty. Some discrete manufacturers are moving inventory to the excess market as a means to generate revenue now.
Is this preferable to holding tight to supply and waiting out long lead times? It depends on your business, of course. But, we encourage customers to think through this strategy and how it might apply to their unique situations. After all, these supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing aren’t going away anytime soon. It could pay to get creative with your excess inventory.
To summarize: The critical opportunity in response to supply chain challenges impacting discrete manufacturing lies in connecting challenges with opportunities to generate revenue and rethink supply chains.
Read more
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