Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1466505
30 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2022 To that end, the EMS provider industry has had to put increased emphasis on good cus- tomer service and efficient communications tools. is applies equally within the quick- turn and traditional EMS settings. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but if the news is bad, the best thing to do is to get out front with it. In fact, bad news is usually more important than good, and we treat it that way. e sooner a manufacturing program man- ager or customer service agent can get to a cus- tomer, the sooner work can begin on solutions. ere is no room for slow communications in today's unstable supply chain environment. All the internal teams need to be working together on this. In the past, a sales manager might be tasked with getting the sale and moving on, with the nuts and bolts le to program management. Today, sales, purchasing, support, and program management all need to work together to keep the manufacturer/customer relationship strong and keep the production lines moving. Supplying alternates has long been stan- dard practice in volume manufacturing. It's just as important now. In fact, having extra approved substitutions is recommended prac- tice. In the quick-turn world, engineers oen relied on any given component being available from DigiKey, Mouser or one of a handful of distributors that sell in small quantities. at's not good enough anymore. Everyone needs to think about substitutes before sending the design package off for a quote. Another concept we are seeing more of is the "wait vs. modify" decision. Designers need to be willing to consider a small redesign to fit a chip package that's more available. Some- times a new highly integrated component may need to be taken out and replaced with multi- ple components. is can result in changes to the board real estate and case design. at may seem extreme, but if the fancy chip is out 52 weeks or more, obstinance could result in loss of competitive advantage and revenue. I don't see our supply chain getting back to where it was pre-2018 any time soon. Design- ers and builders need to be flexible and quick to communicate. Components manufacturers have a hand in the solution too. Giving a micro- controller eight different part numbers, differ- ing only in the amount of memory, instead of a one or two size fits all solution, gives six or seven more opportunities for an engineer to pick a variety that is not available. e best advice I can give is to be flexible, automate, communicate as fast as possible, and hang in there. We will get through this, and when we do, it will be a pretty exciting new world. SMT007 Duane Benson is director of marketing for Milwaukee Electronics and Screaming Circuits.