The entire electronics market is currently struggling with component shortages. Our new Operations Manager Mark Verhoeven and his team ensure that this limits the impact to customers as much as possible. Nevertheless, we are curious about the reasons behind the problem and the outlook of the situation. You can read more about it in this interview.
Mark explains what is going on at the components market: “There are multiple reasons. On the one hand, there is an increasing demand for products containing electronics. This is partly due to the demand for solar and wind energy, electric vehicles, the expansion of data centers and server parks, et cetera.” In addition, components have become smaller. This miniaturization has made new developments possible, but for the manufacturers there was an additional advantage: smaller components need fewer materials making production less expensive “This meant that 'old' larger components were made 'end of life' earlier than expected. All these factors together have caused a run on components, resulting in a shortage. The increase in demand was estimated to be less drastic by the market than what we see happening now. The producers are now adapting, but developing and building new factories and production facilities takes time. It will take months before this shortage is solved. Things are expected to calm down a bit at the end of 2021.”
How RENA handles this
Naturally, we at RENA also have to deal with this. Mark explains how RENA thinks in solutions: “We can overcome this by making long-term agreements with our customers about the purchase pattern. In addition, we have a strong relationship with our partner Future Electronics. We can use all the possibilities that this large network offers. We also have extensive contacts in China, where many components originate from. In addition, RENA has its own engineering capacity. This allows us to adjust designs where necessary and incorporate other components with a shorter delivery time.”
Creating the best solution together
As a customer, what can you do? “If customers notify us of their purchase pattern for the next 12 months, we can act on it in time. We proactively contact the customer to find the best solution together.”
Of course you can contact Mark Verhoeven personally. Mark has been active in the electronics world for over 20 years and has an extensive network that he uses to solve these kinds of challenges. With his knowledge and experience, he helps RENA and its customers to a higher level. You can reach Mark via m.verhoeven@rena.nl or call +31 (0)76 599 5 975.
