Jennifer Strawn, the Govt Vice President of Gross sales and Sourcing for Rand Expertise, joins Ryan Chacon on the IoT For All Podcast to debate navigating the semiconductor area for IoT. They cowl the affect of semiconductors on IoT, how shortages have an effect on IoT adoption, the present state of the semiconductor trade, how different IoT parts are affected by shortages, the efforts to deal with semiconductor shortages, and recommendation for navigating semiconductor shortages.
About Jennifer Strawn
Jennifer Strawn brings 25 years of provide chain options expertise. All through her profession, Jennifer has served in executive-level provide chain positions with a number of giant international firms, most lately with a high-profile North America-based electronics producer and distributor. She is expert in collaborating with cross-functional groups to scale and develop international organizations and in constructing highly-effective gross sales groups in Europe and North America.
Serious about connecting with Jennifer? Attain out on LinkedIn!
About Rand Expertise
Rand Expertise has been a number one electronics element sourcing and provide chain options firm for greater than 30 years with 11 worldwide workplaces, 5,000+ purchasers in 72 nations throughout 5 continents. The corporate offers Fortune 500 clients with a complete suite of companies together with steerage and technique throughout NPI, manufacturing, distribution, and sustainability options.
Key Questions and Subjects from this Episode:
(00:11) Introduction to Jennifer Strawn and Rand Expertise
(00:34) Affect of the semiconductor trade on IoT
(02:55) Will chip shortages have an effect on IoT adoption and progress?
(05:10) Present state of the semiconductor trade
(07:28) Affect of semiconductor shortages on completely different industries
(10:27) Way forward for semiconductors and different parts
(13:58) Efforts to deal with the semiconductor scarcity
(16:05) Recommendation for navigating semiconductor shortages
(17:49) Be taught extra and comply with up
Transcript:
– [Ryan] Welcome Jennifer to the IoT For All Podcast. Thanks for being right here this week.
– [Jennifer] Thanks for having me. I’m actually excited.
– [Ryan] I’m very excited to have you ever as effectively. Previous to stepping into our dialog, I might find it irresistible in the event you wouldn’t thoughts giving a fast intro about your self and the corporate to our viewers.
– [Jennifer] My title is Jennifer Strawn. I’m the Govt Vice President of Gross sales and Sourcing for Rand Expertise. Rand Expertise is called an unbiased distributor. We’re a provide chain sourcing and options firm for tier one OEMs.
– [Ryan] I needed to have a dialog with you right now about a component of IoT options that’s tremendous essential that we actually extra gloss over at instances, and we’ve by no means actually dove into type of the affect it has on the trade, and that’s the semiconductor area for IoT. Let’s only for our viewers’s profit, are you able to give us a excessive degree overview of the affect the semiconductor trade has on IoT?
– [Jennifer] The semiconductor trade impacts every little thing requiring something digital, something that has a motherboard or a {hardware} element to its know-how. And when there are constraints or challenges inside the provide chain, it has an affect on each sector, whether or not it often begins in a sector could be whether or not that’s automotive or a client, so it often begins with one, and also you see the trickle down results into all the opposite several types of merchandise which are manufactured throughout the globe.
It’s been uncommon within the final two years as a result of when there’s disruptions in provide chain, usually it’s one or two forms of merchandise. And it’s been overwhelming for the final couple of years for all sorts of merchandise throughout all forms of completely different types of semiconductors. It’s uncommon as a result of there’s by no means been each affect of each crucial sort of semiconductor that goes into manufacturing in order that created the scenario the place we’re right now that affected automotive, it affected client, it affected infrastructure construct out and for numerous completely different causes.
– [Ryan] Yeah, I seen. I bear in mind once I was shopping for a brand new automotive, and my mother and father had been shopping for a brand new automotive across the similar time, the affect that was having on getting sure fashions they had been on the lookout for and it modified, the worth was elevated quite a bit, they usually saved speaking concerning the chips, the chips are the difficulty. We’re operating into provide chain points. For these on the market who’ve perhaps been listening to about that or have heard about prior to now, that’s what we’re speaking about right here. So with all that being stated, clearly, given how essential that’s, it’s prone to, it’s the place it’s probably thought that this will threaten and affect IoT adoption and progress going ahead. Is {that a} truthful assertion to say?
– [Jennifer] That’s a particularly reasonable assertion to say. And when folks, you’re proper, I’ve accomplished this for nearly 30 years, and I all the time make a joke as a result of even my mother and pop most likely couldn’t let you know what I do for a residing nonetheless as a result of semiconductors don’t get mentioned on an on a regular basis foundation. In order that they’ve been highlighted for the final couple of years and individuals are beginning to perceive perhaps what a few of these are.
Mostly you hear names like Micron or Samsung or perhaps much more importantly recently like a Texas Devices or these have been highlighted as a result of they’ve been one of many crucial producers over the past couple of years or an STMicro. So individuals are loosely studying however your connectivity, your Web of Issues, whether or not it’s out of your, as an individual on your home equipment or your merchandise or your apps, all begins with a much bigger image beginning with infrastructure, proper? Whether or not we now have the right cloud area and energy arrange. So if that’s not prepared, and that’s within the center because of the COVID push, the place all people realized you could possibly make money working from home and connectivity turned mainly quick forwarded into 5G and additional and you then carry on with that everyone needs to maneuver to the brand new know-how of merchandise as we’re undoubtedly in a know-how renaissance of a complete new set of merchandise for the long run, which leads us to IoT adoption. After which the AI after which the electrical automobiles. So all of that at one time with new merchandise and new demand created constraint within the provide chain.
– [Ryan] No, that makes complete sense. The place are we now with this as a result of clearly this has been a dialog for fairly a while. It was undoubtedly a giant factor in the course of the pandemic. The place are we now? Is this case fastened? Is that this, are we seeing the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel of this coming again to being one thing that’s much less of a difficulty and fewer of a priority for IoT firms, or the place do issues stand now?
– [Jennifer] Now we’re in, once more, one other very uncharted, unknown territory as a result of once we had the final couple years of the constraint, there was not sufficient product. And a few issues transpired on the again finish of that with chip producers and the businesses that wanted the chips in an effort to assist get them by way of that point interval. There have been several types of non cancellable orders they needed to put in and lead instances had been very lengthy. A lead time to make the chip went from a standard six to eight weeks out to 52 plus weeks.
So due to a number of the actions that passed off to get the final couple of years beneath management, folks have extra merchandise beginning to be delivered now, and we’re now in an unsure market for a lot of causes about geopolitical recession pending, so demand is down, however there’s all this surplus of stock popping out into the purchasers from the orders they put in place over the past 12 months and a half.
Now, firms have an excessive amount of stock. And their demand is stalled proper now or much less, they usually’re not ready to make use of as a lot of that surplus in manufacturing as a result of they’re not constructing as a lot proper now for numerous causes. They usually’re sitting on a bunch of additional stock. All forms of firms, automotive has surplus, client merchandise have surplus, everybody has an excessive amount of stock, however nonetheless lacking perhaps some crucial elements they should full a construct.
– [Ryan] It’s an fascinating drawback given how large of an affect this will have on an IoT resolution and deployment. Are there any, you speak about automotive, when it, if we’re fascinated about different industries within the IoT area, or different, are there sure industries that you just’ve seen extra affected by this than others or ones which are perhaps nearer to having the ability to transfer ahead at that tempo they had been hoping for to, with given the difficulty that we’re speaking about right here with the semiconductors?
– [Jennifer] Sure, folks, firms that make a client product or a product that might most likely fall within the line of IoT, in a market that everyone has simply gone by way of, when there’s constraint and allocation within the provide chain, pricing will get extremely excessive. In case you can’t get the product direct out of your regular sources, whether or not that’s by way of manufacturing facility director, they’re licensed distributors, it’s important to exit into what’s known as the market, which is what Rand makes a speciality of, serving to clients navigate the unknown, the open market. And while you’re working with firms like Rand, we assist attempt to discover the elements someplace else on this planet at a value that enables them to not have an excessive amount of value variance, proper?
They’ve a normal price of a greenback and now the half is 20 {dollars} out there. Corporations whose product might solely price 10 {dollars} to start with or 25 {dollars} or a espresso maker that’s 200 {dollars}, if elements that go in it begin outpricing the worth of the product, firms have a problem. In order that they get, they usually additionally don’t have as a lot precedence in line on the licensed distributor or the chip producer as a much bigger firm, akin to some making automotive or infrastructure construct out, networking, several types of methods happen. In order that they often get put again, they usually’re essentially the most, they’re in most want of an answer as a result of they’re those that acted essentially the most.
– [Ryan] Completely, yeah, it’s fascinating to consider, since we focus quite a bit on enterprise conversations, and we speak about enterprise deployments, fascinated about all of the work that has to enter an answer simply to get it to the pilot stage after which probably persuade the corporate by way of that pilot stage to now scale, if they’re then hit with this enhance in price in several parts that they weren’t anticipating, they could have a signed contract and settlement, that may be dramatically, grow to be a really dramatic challenge for them, proper? Might be very detrimental to their capability, proper, the corporate might not even be capable to exist if that would presumably occur as a result of it probably might kill the complete ROI that they now should tackle themselves, perhaps the corporate constructing it versus the shopper. That is clearly an important type of space for us to deal with, however outdoors of the semiconductor itself, are there, what are you seeing with the opposite completely different, different parts which are going into loads of these options, microcontrollers, processors, reminiscence chips, communication modules, all these completely different areas. Are these being impacted as effectively or are these, like what’s the type of the forecast that you just all see from the affect they’re having out there proper now given how obtainable they’re, perhaps how obtainable they aren’t.
– [Jennifer] When you consider manufacturing and likewise what it’s worthwhile to full your merchandise, areas akin to reminiscence, for instance, notably in DRAM modules, it’s been comparatively flat and secure as a result of in the event you can’t construct all the opposite issues, you’re not going to purchase a few of your dearer merchandise akin to reminiscence, proper, till you, that sort of product is purchased particularly for what’s going to be produced. In order that they purchase, they don’t overstock that. It’s a really, it’s a commodity. In order that remained just a little secure, however now reminiscence is on the very backside of its pricing, and also you’re gonna, once we begin to see the market construct again up, there may be going to be the second for reminiscence.
So we count on to see someplace by way of 2024, the uptick in demand for reminiscence after which most likely a few of its personal allocation challenges. So there might be a second for that. When it comes to CPUs or extra probably GPUs as a number of the AI product or a, between AI and AR and VR, completely different graphics and mathematical equations, you’ll begin to see extra constraint by way of GPUs, and it’ll simply construct from there. There could possibly be a second when you consider the brand new know-how. In order that’s one of many fascinating issues with going again to while you requested me if the issues had been fastened, and that’s nonetheless very unknown as a result of loads of the issues that transpired to create the issues are nonetheless in a solutionable stage. They haven’t accomplished the corrections but. And lots of issues round which are impacted. After we don’t know the merchandise but, it’s arduous to know what’s going for use in these merchandise. So, it’s arduous to say that whether or not your reminiscence or a few of your extra widespread chips used round energy or switching, akin to a to not use technical phrases however like a MOSFET or IGBT or issues that, MCUs, which are utilized in broad merchandise from home equipment to communications to automotive, these we don’t know what number of and what the demand is and what number of new capacitors or resistors might be in want for, whether or not it’s once more your fridge was once simply to retailer your meals and now it’s in your telephone and you may order and all of the issues. In order that’s unknown. So the, what they name the combination or the demand continues to be unsure. As we transfer ahead, it’s going to be very difficult.
– [Ryan] What if something is being accomplished proper now to essentially tackle this so far as are there new manufacturing vegetation, issues being constructed, and if that’s the case, what affect is that going to have within the quick time period and the long run?
– [Jennifer] So, I’m certain folks have heard loads of discuss, notably in the USA. There was the announcement of the CHIPS Act and bringing semiconductor foundries to the U.S. and completely different areas internationally to not solely enhance capability however just a little little bit of de-risking with issues being inbuilt China. So loads of issues are going round that and people take a few years to construct, they usually’re within the technique of bringing these up.
However then there’s what comes behind it’s the calibration take a look at and high quality preparations as a result of semiconductor manufacturing could be very difficult, proper? And that leads us into then the expertise pool, proper? The folks, the staff which have the skillset and the background to handle and run and take part in these vegetation. And that’s one thing that no less than within the U.S. we’re engaged on constructing as a result of we haven’t had that degree of or that sort of schooling and expertise within the U.S. for no less than the final 25 years since we offshored every little thing. Individuals went to high school to main in different issues. In order we work on the expertise, as all of the foundries come on-line, it’s important to work by way of the reliability and high quality to make it possible for these issues come off the road in the identical practiced means that they did of their different foundries. So there’s loads of parts to that.
– [Ryan] You even take into consideration not simply the affect that that is going to have, however the issues which are impacting this, the power to show this round. There’s clearly international occasions that affect this, proper? Like the place we get loads of our chips from world wide. I consider Taiwan is a giant space for this. All of the type of belongings you see within the information about them and what’s happening in that space of the world goes to affect this as effectively. For the viewers who’s listening to this and has been influenced by this in any means in any respect, what’s your recommendation for them on methods to navigate these shortages going ahead.
– [Jennifer] If a number of the viewers works for manufacturing that produces merchandise or participates in provide chain {hardware}, firms are actually threat mitigation and provide assurance. And in threat mitigation, they’re simply fascinated about, while you create a product and also you design what’s going to go on the PCB board, the print, the inexperienced circuit board, you may decide up a semiconductor that may produce other manufacturers or alternates as they’re known as. So ensuring you don’t have one product single sourced helps quite a bit. Work, firms are fascinated about now we now have this surplus of stock, how do they assist repurpose that stock. And most significantly, it’s been highlighted that you just want an arsenal of resolution companions in your belt. So you’ve got your commonplace line of supply of provide, however you then undoubtedly want any person that specializes, like Rand does, in serving to them perceive in the event you can’t get something you want, or you may’t discover a second supply, otherwise you want assist in these areas, that’s the place an organization like Rand can step in and assist facilitate a few of their wants. So they should have good provide chain resolution companions that assist them navigate by way of the crucial markets.
– [Ryan] I believe it’s a problem such as you’ve talked about that lots of people listening to this have been affected by, might be affected by going ahead, but it surely’s essential for them to grasp what’s inflicting it and methods to method it in an effort to preserve the enterprise going ahead and assist these deployments nonetheless get off the bottom, see success, so I actually recognize you taking the time to leap on right here with me and discuss by way of this. For our viewers who needs to be taught extra about what you all are doing, perhaps comply with up on discussions, matters, that we talked about right now, what’s one of the best ways they’ll do this?
– [Jennifer] They’ll discover our web site. It’s www.randtech.com. I might be completely happy to share my contact info if you need it, they usually can attain out to me immediately, and be taught extra about us and the way we might assist them.
– [Ryan] Jennifer, thanks a lot for taking the time. It was an ideal dialog, tremendous essential matter for us to cowl that we haven’t been in a position to cowl but. So thanks for taking day out of your day, and I sit up for getting this out to our viewers.
– [Jennifer] Thanks. Thanks once more for having me.