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32 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 The Customer Shouldn't Have to Manage the Supplier We've ended up transferring a lot of that complexity to the cus- tomer. This is a consequence of complicated supply chains that I don't think we talk about enough, where the buyer fol- lows up on delivery, engineer- ing answers manufacturability questions, quality chases documentation, and sup- ply chain evaluates risk. Before long, the customer is coordinating the supplier instead of the supplier coordinating the program. I think we've got that backward. A PCB partner should create a layer of simplicity between the customer and a more complicated global manufac- turing environment. Engineering, quality, sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics may all be involved behind the scenes, but the customer shouldn't have to coordinate those functions individually. That's the thinking behind the Customer Concierge model we've built at MCL: one account- able point of contact responsible for coordinating execution across the program. The larger principle is simply that a good PCB partner shouldn't add another thing for your team to manage. It should take work off your team's plate. Forecasting Should Create More Than Visibility The current material environment has also made me think differently about forecasting. Suppliers have always asked customers for better forecasts because visibility helps us plan. But if a customer can give us reasonable visibility into future demand, we should be asking how we can turn that visibility into greater stability for the customer. If a customer already knows what they are likely to need six months from now, waiting until each purchase order comes due may unnecessarily expose that program to changes in material pricing, availability, capacity, or lead time. Earlier commitment creates options, and that's what led us to develop SupplyShield at MCL. It is designed for customers with known or reasonably predictable PCB requirements. Customers commit earlier against forecasted demand, giving us greater ability to plan with our manufacturing partners and secure material and capacity when appropriate. In return, we can provide price stability for a defined six-month period. We've seen what that can mean in practice. One recent customer committed approximately $750,000 in forecasted PCB requirements through this program, and that visibility allowed us to secure material and capacity months earlier than would otherwise have been possible. In the months that followed, multiple suppliers implemented price increases, while lead times on several materials increased. Because the customer had committed to known demand in advance, pricing remained fixed for the duration of the agree- ment, and production schedules remained intact despite the broader market volatility. Based on the affected requirements, we estimate that early commitment helped the customer avoid approxi- mately $250,000 in additional costs. But the financial benefit goes beyond the avoided price increase. The customer didn't have to purchase and take possession of the entire $750,000 requirement at once to gain the benefits of earlier planning. That allowed the business to preserve working capital for other priorities while creating greater predictability around future PCB requirements. The value wasn't simply locking in a PCB price. It was reducing price, availability, and schedule risk before market conditions changed. SupplyShield isn't the right answer for every program. For another customer, the answer might be a blanket or stocking strategy, an alternate manufacturing geography, a material substitution, or a design change. The solution should follow the customer's risk, not the supplier's product catalog. Uncertainty Tests Supplier Relationships Periods of disruption have a way of exposing weak- nesses that aren't as visible when everything is running smoothly. Customers quickly find out who communicates well before there's a problem and Dan Thau