- April 6, 2026
IT Procurement Update – April 2026
Supply Urgency & Market Update
Rising demand driven by AI is placing significant pressure on global supply chains. WBM continues to closely monitor the situation, and with industry-wide increases in memory and storage component costs, we anticipate notable price increases from all major manufacturers throughout 2026.
While recent developments around OpenAI’s funding challenges have contributed to short-term stabilization in RAM pricing, industry experts still expect ongoing volatility and potential shortages extending through 2026 and into 2027.
In addition, both Intel and AMD have recently communicated planned CPU price increases, announced in March and April, respectively, while OEMs continue to face extended lead times on key products. These factors are likely to intensify existing pressures further, compounding rising hardware costs and ongoing supply constraints across the channel, largely driven by the global, AI-fueled memory shortage.
What’s happening:
As of early April 2026, the global RAM shortage remains severe, driven by unprecedented demand from AI data centers. This surge has significantly impacted availability and pricing in the I.T. channel, with some 32GB DDR5 kits becoming difficult to source or experiencing substantial price increases. While there have been recent signs of minor stabilization and even slight price declines in select regions, these improvements appear temporary. Industry experts and manufacturers broadly expect the imbalance between supply and demand to persist, with some forecasts suggesting constraints could continue through 2028 and potentially into 2030.
- Copper markets and tariffs remain volatile and unpredictable.
- Memory demand has surged due to AI, data center growth, and technology transitions like DDR4→DDR5.
- Manufacturers are reallocating capacity to higher-margin memory, tightening supply for legacy components.
- Intel & AMD CPU price increases and extended lead times on key products.
The WBM Procurement Services Team is here to support you with the latest updates from manufacturers.
Lenovo
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Market dynamics are shifting quickly. Intel Lunar Lake platforms are already effectively sold out despite appearing current in lifecycle tools and roadmaps, indicating limited to no future availability for Lenovo custom (CTO) builds. These systems are being replaced by Intel Panther Lake, which is expected to come at a premium, potentially up to 30% depending on configuration. It’s also worth noting that Lunar Lake integrated memory was a key driver of lower system costs compared to Intel Arrow Lake models. With the transition to Panther Lake, that cost advantage is expected to diminish.
- Lenovo pricing updates began on March 3 across the portfolio, with more changes happening. As a planning guideline, orders received to WBM no later than May 27 are more likely to align with current pricing.
Quote validity:
- Orders received before May 27, but not shipped by June 30, 2026, will need to be repriced.
- Due to specific RAM and component configurations, we have seen custom orders (CTO) being pushed out by +20 weeks.
Microsoft
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- There is a global supply constraint on 32GB Intel Lunar Lake configurations, with CU7/32 now moving to allocation and expected to be out of stock by end of July.
- Co-Pilot Promotion ended March 1.
- A significant price increase will come into effect on April 1. WBM currently has some Surface stock available to ship before April 1st to help mitigate price risk.
Intel
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Intel has confirmed CPU price increases for OEMs as supply constraints continue, driven by sustained demand across data center and commercial PC environments, particularly related to AI infrastructure.
- Organizations should anticipate some continued pricing pressure and longer lead times for certain processors, though CPU increases are expected to be less volatile than recent memory market fluctuations.
- Read the article, here: CRN News Intel Confirms CPU Price Increases for OEMs Amid Supply Crunch
Dell
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- 14 Day Validity on Quotes
- Dell has begun adjusting pricing across several product lines due to broader industry cost increases.
- For servers, pricing changes are affecting key components including memory across both 16G and 17G platforms, storage (SSDs, HDDs, and BOSS controller cards), and Intel CPUs.
- Dell storage pricing and deal structures may also shift depending on current market conditions and component availability, so pricing may vary based on configuration and timing.
- Additionally, Dell device pricing is increasing, and some higher spec end user devices are already seeing supply constraints. Further price adjustments across the device portfolio are expected starting March 30. If you are considering any upcoming purchases, placing orders before this date may help avoid additional increases.
HP
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Based on current market conditions, effective April 1, HP will increase the price of selected HP Personal Systems and HP Poly products.
- No percentage increase has been officially announced, but it will be no less than 10%, and it will be dependent on the configuration of the device.
- HP is saying they will try to honour backorders placed before April 1st, but there is no guarantee.
- We are seeing major constraints on 32GB memory systems.
- There is a supply of pre-discounted models at our distributors.
- Effective May 4th, 2026, HP will increase the price of select Poly video products. The price increase will be across the following:
- Video – (VPC:NJ)
- Studio E70, G62, V12, X32, X52/V52, X72/V72, Poly TC10, and the HP Poly A2 Audio Bridge
Logitech
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
Effective May 2, 2026 – As a result of rising Memory and component costs across all regions, and their immense impact on Logitech’s video collaboration (VC) products.
Logitech Price increase May 2, 2026
Fortinet
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Following Fortinet’s recent price increase that took effect on March 2, Fortinet will be implementing monthly price increases, averaging approximately 10%.
Quote validity:
- FTQs are now valid for 30 days.
Panasonic Toughbooks
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- All new Rugged orders submitted on or after April 1st will be subject to the revised pricing.
Quote validity:
- Current pricing on Rugged products will be honoured for purchase orders received by March 31st, provided, the requested delivery date is on or before June 30th.
- We are currently seeing 12-14 week ETA’s from Panasonic on the CF33 models.
Huddly
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- L1 Equipment is expected to see a 10% increase on March 30.
HPE
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Immediate changes per HPE.
- HPE Quote Validity is 14 days; Validity is based on HPE quote end date.
- All pricing from HPE is subject to change without notice.
- HPE reserves the right to cancel ANY order prior to shipment.
- If you are placing orders including a constraint product and the quote expires prior to shipping, the order will be rejected and cancelled by HPE and a requote will be required for order processing.
- This is not a short-term issue as supply is continuing to be challenged as the factories making enterprise data center CPU’s, memory & disk have re-tooled their production to make higher margin AI components. The industry is estimating this is a 2+ year challenge to get back to normal. HPE has seen a 24-30% increase on list price so far in March alone.
HPE is currently experiencing supply constraints on the Instant On 1930 series, which are expected to impact availability for the foreseeable future. Specifically, models JL685A and JL686B are under constraint, and HPE has not yet provided estimated timelines for resolution. At this time, PoE variants are being prioritized as part of the recovery plan.
In the interim, several alternative options are available:
- The 1830 48-port switches (JL814A and JL815A) can be positioned where Layer 2 functionality is sufficient. Please note that on the PoE model, only 24 of the 48 ports support PoE.
- The 1960 series (JL808A and JL809A) is also available as an alternative; however, this comes at a higher price point compared to the 1930 series.
- Additionally, 24-port 1930 models (JL682A, JL683B, JL684B) remain available.
Cisco
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Upcoming List Price Adjustments will take effect on April 18, 2026. These changes are mainly focused on our Compute hardware. This is a response to the ongoing volatility in the memory market and the broader cost fluctuations hitting the global IT industry. We’re making these adjustments to ensure we can keep delivering the performance and reliability our customers expect.
Check Point
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
- Upcoming price changes effective April 5, 2026.
- Customers can avoid the surcharge by placing orders before April 5, 2026.
- A temporary 5% surcharge will be applied to new appliance orders effective April 5, 2026
- Any cancellation requests will be reviewed and approved by Check Point only on a case-by-case basis.
Industry News to Watch
SK Group chairman says memory chip shortage will last until 2030
RAM Prices Have Started To Drop, But the Crisis Is Far From Over
Analysts believe the shortage driven by AI data center demand will persist.
Ram prices are stabilizing, but I wouldn’t celebrate just yet
If You Need a Laptop, Buy It Now
Our Recommendation
If you have upcoming technology requirements, WBM strongly recommends evaluating opportunities to accelerate purchases to secure both pricing and availability. Given current market conditions, we are advising customers to procure RAM and storage capacity upfront to support their systems over their full lifecycle.
Our Procurement Services Team has real-time visibility into inventory across Tier 1 manufacturers and distributors throughout Canada and can work with you to implement managed inventory solutions. In addition, WBM offers a range of creative financing options, including evergreen programs, designed to help offset price increases and reduce the overall total cost of ownership.
For assistance, please connect with your WBM Account Manager or contact our Procurement Services Team directly at 888-275-4926 or sales@wbm.ca. You can also view real-time product availability through the WBM Direct procurement portal at wbmdirect.ca.
WBM is a Western Canadian IT channel partner dedicated to helping our customers navigate supply chain challenges. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your strategy, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Ashley Schell
Director, Strategic Procurement
WBM Technologies
