Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1069358
36 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2019 the new product announcement schedule is now at risk. Then, procurement likely starts making a flurry of phone calls to try to source parts in non-primary channels, possibly even turning to grey-market sources. If this sourcing issue resolves in procurement, the team still isn't in the clear. As fast as component availability is changing currently, things are no longer stable just because the project has moved into manufacturing. Those parts shortages could still arise during manufacturing or between the first and second production runs. Watson notes, "Many of the part vendors have now switched over to allocation. In allocation, manufacturers divide the available inventory, so only a percentage of the stock is given to specific purchasers. The suppliers, of course, want to work with the companies that place the biggest orders." Watson continues, "On the company side, allocation has caused an absolute panic. To make sure to have the available components, the new common practice is to double and triple order quantities, then stockpile these components for future use. This only puts a further strain on an already fragile system of supply and demand." Doherty seems to think similarly, "Digi- Key is bringing in more inventory. I would challenge anybody to have physically just as much product as possible available on the shelf." "The bellwether to me on whether it's long term or not is with the component manufacturers," states Wayne Antal, a key account manager with NCAB Group. "If they aren't increasing capacity, then they think it's shorter term. The question is, 'What is short term?' Is it one to two years? Is it six months? Is it something else?" "I do not envy them," observes Antal. "I have one component—the circuit board—and they have an entire bill of materials that they have to come up with and try to find. It has been increasingly more difficult to complete the BOM under these circumstances." PCBs Aren't So Sheltered "From the PCB fabricator standpoint, we haven't yet seen any direct impact from the part shortages," says Matt Stevenson, director of marketing at PCB fabricator Sunstone Circuits. "However, when we quote a full turn- key job for customers, we do see delays and issues in getting those quotes turned, as well as not being able to quote the entire BOM in a feasible manner." While the PCB fabrication step doesn't seem to suffer from component availability in such a direct way, the shortages still have an impact. Even laminate can sometimes be difficult to come by. Martin's recent experiences at Vexos illustrate the point, "Last summer, they couldn't get the foil sheets to build the laminates because the copper was going to batteries and electric vehicles." However, she notes that things may have turned around. "We haven't had a lot of fabrication issues recently. Most of our suppliers are back to near normal lead times—I'd say about six weeks for those. They had jumped up to over 10 weeks last summer, and prices had escalated. The prices have come back down and stabilized a little bit, and the lead times have also dropped down." John Lee, VP at Insulectro, a materials distributor, picks up the thread, "It used to be that quick-turn was something that was an exception, and you charged a premium for it. Everybody was content with whatever the normal delivery was. Quick-turn is now the new norm; it's what's expected, and we don't charge a premium for it." This quick-turn expectation for fabricators is likely driven by their customers' changing