- March 16, 2026
IT Procurement Update – March 2026
Supply Urgency & Market Update
Exponential AI demand is challenging supply. WBM has been monitoring this situation closely and given industry-wide increases in component costs for memory and storage, we expect to see significant price increases from all major manufacturers throughout 2026.
What’s happening:
- 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.
- These pressures are driving significant cost increases across the industry.
The WBM Procurement Services Team is here to support you with the latest updates from manufacturers.
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 and honor backorders placed before April 1st, but there is no guarantee.
- We are seeing major constraints on 32GB memory systems.
- There is supply on pre-discounted models at our distributors.
Lenovo
Status: Stable | Watch | Constrained
Pricing and quoting:
- Lenovo pricing updates began March 3 across the portfolio, with more changes happening on March 9.
- 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 +20 weeks.
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 quote expires prior to shipping, the order will be rejected and cancelled by HPE and 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:
- Prices will be based on anticipated component costs at the time of shipment.
- Order may be placed on hold and requoted or cancelled.
CHECK POINT (WATCH)
- UPCOMING PRICING CHANGES effective April 05th 2026.
A temporary 5% surcharge will be applied to new appliance orders effective April 5, 2026 - It is driven by ongoing supply chain and component cost pressures.
- Customers can avoid the surcharge by placing orders before April 5, 2026.
- Any cancellation requests will be reviewed and approved by Check Point only on case-by-case basis.
Industry News to Watch
- US RAM crisis hits boiling point as AI mania wipes out all 32GB DDR5 kits under $359 — cheaper kits vanish from shelves within seconds of listing – Tom’s Hardware
- 2026 PC shipment forecast slashed amid memory shortages — IDC says total PC market value to nonetheless increase to $274 billion due to ongoing price hikes – Tom’s Hardware
- ‘RAMmageddon’ hits labs: AI-driven memory shortage is impacting science – Nature
- RAM price hikes: the latest on the global memory shortage – The Verge
- RAM Shortage Could Kill Budget Phones: The Latest Predictions at MWC 2026 – CNET
- Why a memory chip shortage is wreaking havoc on the consumer electronics industry – CBC News
Our Recommendation
If you have known technology requirements upcoming, WBM is now strongly recommending that you consider strategies to move these purchases forward to ensure pricing and availability. WBM is encouraging customers to buy the RAM and storage they need to support their systems for the lifetime of that system.
Our Procurement Services Team has real-time inventory insights from all Tier 1 manufacturers and distributors in Canada, and we can work with you to provide managed inventory services and/or deferred leasing payment arrangements as required to facilitate any risk mitigation strategies you wish to pursue.
For assistance, please contact your WBM Account Manager or reach out directly to our Procurement Services team at 888-275-4926 or sales@wbm.ca. You can also check real-time stock availability via the WBM Direct procurement portal at wbmdirect.ca.
WBM is a local Western Canadian IT channel partner working to mitigate supply risks for our customer community. For any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Ashley Schell
Director, Strategic Procurement
WBM Technologies
