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30 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 issues before they become production problems, secures material before availability becomes critical, and when conditions change, they have the relation- ships, experience, and financial strength to act. It's not simply about navigating the PCB supply chain, but making the PCB supply chain easier for our customers to navigate. Information Is Valuable, Action Is Better One of the most important lessons I've learned through periods of supply chain disruption is that in- formation has a relatively short shelf life. While know- ing that a material is becoming constrained is useful, knowing what to do about it is much more valuable. If lead times are beginning to move, ask good questions: What does this mean for upcoming builds? Is there material that should be secured now? Should a release be pulled forward? Is there an alternate material or manufacturing path worth evaluating? Would a stocking strategy reduce risk? That's the difference between communicating a problem and helping manage it. Customers shouldn't need to become experts in laminate avail- ability, global factory capacity, tariffs, logistics, and PCB manufacturing just to keep their programs on schedule. A good partner should absorb some of that complexity and turn it into clear choices. Resilience Happens at the Program Level The PCB industry talks a lot about supply chain resil- ience. It's an important conversation, but resilience can become an abstract concept. Having more factories doesn't automatically make a supply chain more resilient. Every PCB has its own technology curve, quality requirements, volumes, certifications, cost pressures, and timeline. What matters is whether you have the right manufac- turing option for that specific program, and whether you've done the work to understand those options before they're needed. I've learned that this distinction becomes espe- cially important when markets tighten, and I start asking important questions: Does the manufac- turing partner's core competency align with the technology? Does it have the appropriate certi- fications? How has it performed on comparable work? Are quality and communication expectations already established? If material or capacity becomes constrained, what alternatives exist? The goal isn't simply to have more suppliers, but to have the right options before you need them. Risk Often Starts Before the Purchase Order Supply chain risk isn't created only by material shortages or factory capacity. Sometimes it's al- ready sitting in the design. A stackup issue, toler- ance requirement, material selection, or manufac- turability concern discovered after a board reaches production can quickly become a schedule prob- lem. That's why I believe PCB suppliers need to be- come involved earlier. We've seen firsthand how an early DFM conversa- tion can eliminate a problem that otherwise might not surface until weeks later in production. The earlier that engineering and manufacturing require- ments are aligned, the more opportunity there is to address manufacturability, reliability, material avail- ability, cost, and lead time. In a stable environment, catching something early saves time and money. In a constrained environ- ment, it can protect an entire production schedule. The cheapest disruption to solve is the one that never makes it into production. Speed Without Chaos Matters When conditions change quickly, the natural reac- tion is to move faster. But speed without coordina- tion can create an entirely different set of problems. A rushed sourcing decision that creates a quality issue isn't a solution. Neither is moving a board to a factory that isn't well-suited for the technology sim- ply because capacity is available. The goal should be speed without chaos. Supplier relationships need to occur before capacity gets tight, technical capabilities need to be understood before an alternate source is required, and quality expectations need to be established. Communica- tion channels need to be open. You can't build those things in the middle of an emergency. When customers need an answer, they need accurate information quickly. When action is required, their supply chain partner needs to be positioned to move.