Trend
Addressing the semiconductor supply issues By James East, General Manager UK and Ireland, Würth Electronics
I
ssues with sourcing components, particularly electronic ones, are having an impact on a growing number of companies across a range of sectors – from automotive to industrial.
With a huge decrease in demand
through the middle of 2020 and then a very quick uptick toward the end of the year, this was a perfect storm of challenges. ICs were in high demand globally, made worse by the automotive and mobile phone markets starting to ramp up again. Even now, component shortages are the biggest challenge we’ve had in electronics in the last two years. This places engineers under huge
pressure to design with parts they can’t easily get hold of. In many cases, they must work really quickly and intensively to design alternative parts or circuitry, or even redesign entire product ranges. Combined with the effect of the
coronavirus lockdowns, the shortage of ICs has had a particularly large impact in the automotive industry, which increasingly relies on semiconductors to manage and monitor many aspects of a vehicle’s performance. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, UK car production fell by 6.7% in 2021, the worst total since 1956, with knock-on effects felt by the lower production tiers and the wider economy. With the industry starting to ramp up production, this can only become even more uncomfortable for IC manufacturers, who must deliver yet more products.
Guaranteeing future deliveries There is a trend to move IC production back to Europe and North America, away from China and the Far East, so countries have more control of their own silicon. However, it takes years and
billions of dollars to set up new IC lines, so we can’t expect instant results. Customers can also play an important
Design engineers must work quickly and intensively to design alternative parts or circuitry, or even redesign entire product ranges
part, by rethinking how and when they order components, bearing in mind their long-term production goals. The forecasting and scheduling of their orders should be a lot more considered. Supply-chain issues are not going to get any less frequent or less severe, and it’s very unlikely that as an industry we will return to the old ways of supply and demand. As suppliers of components, we can
be flexible with how we move delivery dates for our customers, but without forward orders on the system it makes it very hard to plan full-scale production when there are thousands of customers to satisfy. Hence, placing scheduled orders is the best way to guarantee future deliveries.
04 September 2022
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
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