G3 INSIGHT - QUIXANT
even more challenging, due to its regulated environment in which you can’t substitute parts.
How are we making sure that we are doing the best we can in terms of the macro-themes we’ve discussed? One of the answers is bravery. We buy what we can - when we can, with price a secondary consideration because supply is more important. We announced in our trading update mid-January that we had taken a hit on margin during 2021, since we were buying at inflated levels during that period. You must be prepared for less favourable terms because that’s the only way to ensure allocation.
Cars are shipping without features - like inductive charging, with the manufacturers promising to retro-fit once the chips become available - what’s happening to the purchasing decisions/choices of OEMs during this period of supply chain disruption?
Machines must be fully featured when they’re placed onto the floor. You can’t sell a gaming machine without sound, but with the promise to add that functionality later. I think it is fair to say that we have seen some product migration, with customers moving to a newer product sooner than anticipated as older components are some of the hardest to come by right now.
When a part is unavailable due to end of life or
“It has become something of a bidding war within the supply chain whereby you have to buy what you can, when you can. If you delay, wait 24 hours, for example, the price could double. There are a lot of penalties for not taking decisive action. We have taken a hit and our customers have seen rises in price as we’ve had to share the pain of some of these increases.
Equally, when we come out of this, we will share the gain too.”
extended lead times, which in some cases is 50+ weeks, we have also re-spun products with as few changes as possible.
We supply what is essentially a very similar product so that the customer can assess the changes and make regulatory submissions to ensure they’re fully compliant. Several customers have also said that while they were planning to upgrade next year, they’ll bring the upgrade process forward as a result of the older stock shortages. I’d say it has accelerated the upgrade cycle slightly, but not significantly.
And as supply contracts and demand increases - what’s happening to price?
It has become something of a bidding war within the supply chain whereby you have to buy what you can, when you can. If you delay, wait 24 hours for example, the price could double. Tere are a lot of penalties for not taking decisive action. Price is a difficult topic right now. We have taken a hit and our customers have seen rises in price as we’ve had to share the pain of some of these increases. Equally, when we come out of this situation, we will share the gain too.
Price is a challenge that’s facing all technology markets right now. If you buy anything on Amazon you’ll have seen the inflation in price across a wide spectrum of goods. It’s part of the rise of inflation we are seeing not only within the components sector, but also the broader economy.
Do the supply chain restrictions also affect Quixant’s ability to offer long-term resilience in the supply chain in relation to the obsolescence of products?
Any new product we create involves the ‘designing out’ of obsolete components, because we can’t afford to use up our existing supply. Wherever we see supply limits of a particular component, we design out that element from the new product to ensure we don’t add pressure upon legacy products.
P50 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138
