Supply Chain Issues Continue to Plague the IT Industry

Global supply chain shortages have affected businesses for two years now. This problem has caused the price of computer components to increase significantly and made it difficult to secure hardware products on time.

Pandemic Supply Chains

The COVID-19 pandemic has touched everyone, and businesses are not exempt from this. People worldwide have been dealing with this issue differently, making a collaborative construct like the supply chain more complex. In the computing chip industry, worth $500 billion+ per year, prices have risen considerably as supply chain issues have slowed chip manufacturers. This has resulted in significant delays on orders of new technology. Paired with global shipping problems, it’s becoming a considerable struggle for nearly every business looking to get new technology.

The irony is that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of personal computing devices, which had been declining, jumped to 11 percent globally, thus putting more pressure on component manufacturers. This is likely due to a considerable increase in remote workers during the pandemic, more hybrid workers operating in today’s businesses, and the demand for new PCs, smartphones, and IoT devices today.

Explaining the Chip Shortage

Semiconductors are a critical component in all computing, and the increased demand for computer chips has triggered a significant shortage, contributing to the global supply chain issues. This global shortage is delaying many purchases for computing devices and components, and industry trends point to this continuing well into 2023. The current political instability in Europe will also significantly affect semiconductor production, adding further pressure on the supply chain.

Biggest Constraints

Although we have seen some improvement on certain product lines, docking stations, monitor displays, and networking equipment are still on highly constrained allocation. Please speak to one of our WBM Inside Sales Specialists for help finding alternative product solutions that may be in stock.

What You Can Do

If you are looking to refresh or enhance your computing infrastructure this year, WBM recommends working with our team proactively to get the technology hardware you need on order so we can serve your computing needs as quickly as possible.

To help you navigate the current procurement environment, we recommend speaking with your WBM Account Manager to discuss your hardware requirements for the remainder of the 2022 fiscal year.

The WBM Inside Sales team has up-to-date inventory reports from all Tier 1 technology manufacturers and distributors in Canada. Please reach out by phone or email to sales@wbm.ca to confirm timelines and availability. The WBM Direct procurement portal can also provide real-time stock availability into the Canadian distribution channel. Log in to wbmdirect.ca to learn more.