Supply Chain Headaches: Why an Optics Partner with Inventory is Invaluable

It is no secret that supply chain issues and delays are becoming more common than ever before. Ensuring you have the components you need, when you need them, is critical. The ongoing global supply crunch on datacom and automotive silicon is the latest issue many of us are facing, but looking back at things like flash memory allocation in 2012 and 2017, we’re reminded that supply chain management has been and will be a critical part of any organization’s business planning.

Network upgrades and new builds often start with the big picture and the big items: the core routers, switches, and servers. However, it can often be the little things that end up critical on your path. No one wants their network build-out put on hold as they wait for some high-running optical transceivers to come in. This is where having a strong supply chain partner with inventory comes into play.

The Big Picture: What to Look for in a Supply Chain Partner:

“What’s your lead time?” and “Do you have parts in stock?” are probably the two most common questions a supplier receives, but there are a few additional points to consider when talking to potential supply partners:

• Stocking: Carrying a significant domestic inventory is key to supporting a high availability business model. This may seem like an obvious point to make but keeping the right parts on the shelves and enough of them requires a significant financial commitment as well as a strong relationship with both suppliers and end customers. A strong supplier needs to have their “finger on the pulse” of the industry, looking for inflection points as new technologies ramp up and older ones go end of life. As the component manufacturers push out lead times and 4-6 weeks becomes 8-12 weeks (or longer!), the one way your supply chain partner can mitigate this is by proactively stocking those high-running items. Forecasting can often be a mix of science and magic, but working closely with your stocking partner will help!
• Manufacturing Diversity: A strong supplier will themselves have a strong supply base, with diversity across multiple manufacturers. As well, a geographically diverse manufacturing base provides an additional level of supply chain security against economic and environmental uncertainty.
• Quality (ISO 9001): Having a certified quality management system in place is one of the best ways for any organization to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. This helps guarantee not only a technical level of product quality, but also a company’s end to end manufacturing consistency.
• Technical Support: When your supplier not only provides a product in a timely manner but has also become that trusted technical advisor, you know you have a strong supply chain partner. Early technical support in the product definition phase can be as strategic as post-sales product support. A supply partner should be experts in their field, providing industry insight that can help your engineering, procurement, and operations teams make the most strategic choices in the various phases of a network deployment.

The Start of a Strong Partnership:

Your relationship with your supply partners can be even more rewarding as you manage deployment deadlines and supply chain uncertainty. Make sure you are working with a supplier with a commitment to carrying a strategic inventory to help mitigate the risk to your deployment schedule. Reach out to your Integra Optics Sales or Engineering team for additional support, to discuss how we can help be that trusted supply chain partner!