Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Survey: engineers say IT component shortages have eased since 2022

But respondents are now looking for longer-term solutions to navigate future disruptions, Avnet says

avnet Screen Shot 2023-11-15 at 4.29.21 PM.jpg

Engineers have reached a sense of optimism around acute issues such as the shortages of available components caused by supply chain disruptions, but the long term outlook remains uncertain as they plan for 2024, according to an industry survey from Avnet, a global electronic components distributor based in Arizona.

The firm’s third annual “Avnet Insights” survey found that despite feeling better about availability, engineers are reevaluating how they approach the supply chain following the disruptions of the past few years.


When it comes to supply chain tactics utilized to navigate lack of component availability, the top three tactics for 2023 respondents were: seeking alternative sources for parts (32%), increasing buffer inventory (19%), and increasing the timetable of demand forecasts (17%).

That shows a shift from the 2022 survey, when “seeking alternative sources” remained the top solution, but the second go-to tactic was to go beyond the current approved manufacturer list. The decrease in those going “off list” in favor of adapting inventory or forecasts suggests engineers are now looking for longer-term solutions to navigate disruption, Avnet said.

Further, distributor relationships are proving of greater importance. While last year, improving relationships with distributors came in as the third most popular supply chain strategy for managing the chip shortage, the 2023 survey placed it at number one.

“Our third annual Avnet Insights survey underscored that while many may be feeling more positively about getting access to the necessary components, there is a trepidation about the future. As such, many are looking at what they can do to set themselves up for greater success,” Rebeca Obregon-Jimenez, Avnet’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Engagements and Supplier Management, said in a release. “One thing has become certain, and that is the desire to implement long-term strategies that will help ease the impact of any unforeseen disruptions and ensure flexibility in both sourcing and design.”

Other takeaways from the 2023 survey showed that:

  • Nearly three-fourths of global respondents believe the severity of the component shortage has improved year-over-year: 73% say the shortage has gotten much better or somewhat better. What’s more, this marks a significant shift in engineers who feel there have been improvement compared to 2022, when 59% said the severity of the shortages had gotten worse year-over-year.
  • However, market conditions are becoming a bigger concern. More than a quarter (29%) of respondents are more concerned about market conditions vs. component availability, up from 18% in 2022. Still, component availability remains top concern for the majority (69%).
  • Overall, respondents are experiencing improvements in their access to a number of components – most notably passives (66%). However, respondents are still feeling some strain with MCUs (20%) and analog (19%) components.
  • Hesitation remains around adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies. Avnet found only 4% of engineers are currently using AI in their work today, and only 14% have plans to implement it into their work this year. And despite a small selection who are currently using AI or have plans to use it, a majority of respondents appear to be resistant: more than half said they are not using it and have no plans to (56%).

The Avnet Insights survey was conducted in September among 316 global respondents based in the Americas, EMEA, Asia, and Japan.

 

 

Recent

More Stories

warehouse worker pulling cart

Cleo acquires DataTrans to speed procurement automation

Business software vendor Cleo has acquired DataTrans Solutions, a cloud-based procurement automation and EDI solutions provider, saying the move enhances Cleo’s supply chain orchestration with new procurement automation capabilities.

According to Chicago-based Cleo, the acquisition comes as companies increasingly look to digitalize their procurement processes, instead of relying on inefficient and expensive manual approaches.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

photo collage of warehouse tech

Supply chain pros are wary of inflation and labor woes

The top worries that supply chain leaders hope to address with new innovations this year include inflationary concerns (68%) and labor shortages (50%), according to a survey on innovation from the third-party logistics provider (3PL) Kenco.

And many of them will have a budget to do it, since 51% of supply chain professionals with existing innovation budgets saw an increase earmarked for 2025, suggesting an even greater emphasis on investing in new technologies to meet rising demand, Kenco said in its “2025 Supply Chain Innovation” survey.

Keep ReadingShow less
photos of white house and a loaded containership

Supply chain groups push back on Trump tariff plan

Industry groups across the spectrum of supply chain operations today are pushing back against the Trump Administration plan to apply steep tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, saying the additional fees are taxes that will undermine their profit margins, slow their economic investments, and raise prices for consumers.

Even as a last-minute deal today appeared to delay the tariff on Mexico, that deal is set to last only one month, and tariffs on the other two countries are still set to go into effect at midnight tonight.

Keep ReadingShow less
reagan national DCA airport photo

Reagan National airport plans to reopen today after deadly crash

All flights remained grounded this morning at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) following the deadly mid-air crash last night between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter.

In a statement, DCA airport officials said they would open the facility again today for flights after planes were grounded for more than 12 hours. “Reagan National airport will resume flight operations at 11:00am. All airport roads and terminals are open. Some flights have been delayed or cancelled, so passengers are encouraged to check with their airline for specific flight information,” the facility said in a social media post.

Keep ReadingShow less
wind turbine making electricity

GE Vernova to invest $600 million in U.S. manufacturing sites

GE Vernova today said it plans to invest nearly $600 million in its U.S. factories and facilities over the next two years to support its energy businesses, which make equipment for generating electricity through gas power, grid, nuclear, and onshore wind.

The company was created just nine months ago as a spin-off from its parent corporation, General Electric, with a mission to meet surging global electricity demands. That move created a company with some 18,000 workers across 50 states in the U.S., with 18 U.S. manufacturing facilities and its global headquarters located in Massachusetts. GE Vernova’s technology helps produce approximately 25% of the world’s energy and is currently deployed in more than 140 countries.

Keep ReadingShow less