Articles from Supplyframe

Supplyframe and Orbweaver today announced a new strategic collaboration that addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing electronics manufacturers and distributors: the need to harmonize and connect critical data across design, sourcing, and commercial systems.

Manufacturer demand for electronics components typically peaks in the second half of the year due to Christmas, New Year’s, and new product launches. But new intelligence from Supplyframe’s decision support platform, Commodity IQ, reveals that component demand was anything but typical in 2025, when pre-tariff frontloading earlier in the year led to a demand surge, followed by a swift mid-year decline, and expected record lows this November and December.

Supplyframe today unveiled new DSI Maturity Model research revealing that global manufacturers’ average digital maturity score is just 2.9 out of 5. While slightly better than the average score (2) from last year’s report, which focused on North American manufacturers, this new research indicates there is still significant room for growth.

Tariff uncertainty is creating electronics supply chain déjà vu, with lead times impacted most dramatically. Disruption this time around is outpacing what we all experienced during the pandemic, new Supplyframe Commodity IQ intelligence reveals.

New Supplyframe Commodity IQ intelligence highlights a fundamental shift – from certainty to chaos – for the global electronics supply chain in Q1.

Supplyframe today announced its ongoing growth and leadership as it continues to drive end-to-end transformation across the global electronics value chain. The Design-to-Source Intelligence (DSI) platform delivers prescriptive recommendations for engineering, sourcing and supply chain decision makers through contextual AI with new, expanding sustainability capabilities. The company is now contributing to the shared innovation of Siemens Digital Threads and serving an ever-expanding base of customers.

Supplyframe today revealed new analytics showing significant progress in the global electronics supply chain in 2024, with inventory levels normalizing and supply-demand balance across most commodities amid muted demand. Memory and storage are the exceptions. DRAM and NAND Flash memory prices are swelling. And high-bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM – on which GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA rely – faces severe shortages.

Supplyframe today announced Electronics Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), a new source for sustainability intelligence that provides global manufacturers instant access to product carbon footprint for more than 300 million electronic parts. This industry-first offering addresses compliance reporting and puts companies on a path to measure and report the sustainability of their new product design and sourcing decisions.

Supplyframe today released “The 2024 Digital Maturity Model & Report for the Electronics Industry.” The new report, which is based on a recent survey, reveals that three-fourths (75%) of electronics industry professionals still use some form of ad hoc spreadsheets for sourcing, nearly as many (70%) manually validate and optimize their bills of materials (BOMs) without access to real-time intelligence, and close to half (43%) said that their sourcing teams are reactive and follow the lead of the engineering department.

Supplyframe today announced that the electronics supply chain continues to face semiconductor demand doldrums and elevated inventories, which will linger into the second half of 2024. Otherwise, largely positive developments such as steadily normalizing interconnect and passive inventories and sales momentum are anticipated.

Supplyframe today announced a major new release of its Design-to-Source Intelligence (DSI) Solutions. This release includes a number of first-of-its-kind capabilities to empower electronics design engineers, product leaders, and supply chain professionals with AI Insights – contextual market intelligence that identifies potential risk factors for commodities in their bills of materials (BOMs). DSI Platform 2.0 also introduces a comprehensive Risk Index that enables product engineering and supply chain teams to have a configured, common standard for assessing product risk across a product lifecycle and the broader portfolio.

Supplyframe today revealed the industry’s wide embrace of its DesignSense solutions including SamacSys ECAD models and footprints, which more than 865,000 design engineers now use. More than 50 component manufacturers and more than 60 distributors now offer the SamacSys ECAD models on their websites. Customers of distributor Mouser Electronics alone downloaded more than 1 million of the ECAD models in a single year.

Supplyframe, a leader in decision intelligence solutions, and Jabil, a global leader in design, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions, have announced a collaboration to transform the electronics industry, leveraging artificial intelligence and automation for enhanced operations and decision-making. This collaboration is set to transform key industry processes and deliver data-driven insights to stakeholders in sourcing, quoting, and procurement, eliminating manual errors and increasing efficiency.

New market intelligence from Supplyframe Commodity IQ indicates that the electronics supply chain has entered the Goldilocks Zone for buyers. That means the climate is neither too hot nor too cold but largely habitable. Yet despite the moderation and, in some instances, resolution of supply chain issues in 2023, new challenges loom for 2024 as asymmetrical demand elasticities, like the slackening of automotive and the stiffening of mobile component needs, and related supply constraints spur rising prices and expanding lead times.

Supplyframe is celebrating 20 years of delivering forward-thinking solutions for the entire electronics value chain. Over the past two decades, Supplyframe has evolved amid a world of change and delivered innovative solutions for leaders in engineering, sourcing, marketing and sales; formed incredible strategic partnerships; and demonstrated unwavering commitment to its customers.

New Commodity IQ data from Supplyframe indicates that procurement professionals are now enjoying a degree of negotiation power that they have not experienced in years due to an improved environment for the buy-side of the electronics supply chain marked by falling lead times, stubborn inventory, uneven demand, and mostly declining pricing. But sourcing challenges lie ahead, with low supplier capacity utilization rates as end-market demand – which is set to improve later in the second half of 2023 – ramps up.

The latest Commodity IQ analysis from Supplyframe indicates that inventory reductions and corrections initially expected to be largely complete by the second quarter will continue into the third quarter of 2023. Lead times and prices across most commodities will drop further toward historical norms in the second quarter. Consumer markets remain lethargic, but automotive and industrial segments are relatively robust. And macroeconomic shifts will have massive repercussions for the global electronics supply chain – with a demand rebound for PCs, smartphones, and data centers required to drive new growth.

Supplyframe today announced that its latest Commodity IQ insights reveal positive signs for a normalized supply-demand balance and reduced pricing and availability challenges as we advance into the new year. Excluding memory devices, 85% of semiconductor pricing dimensions will be stable and the remainder will move squarely in favor of buyers for the second half of 2023. But Supplyframe Commodity IQ indicates that extended lead times for semiconductors, including programmable logic devices and passive components like automotive-specific resistors, will continue into the second half of the year.

For the first time in several quarters, the electronic components value chain is getting some pricing and lead time relief, as the new Supplyframe Commodity IQ insights reveal. Bloated inventories have led to plummeting memory device lead times and pricing, and the equalization of lead times and pricing for some passive components. This shift has occurred amid slowing demand in many end markets as central banks continue to raise interest rates to curb inflation and economies worldwide teeter on the edge of recession. But Commodity IQ data indicates that automotive and other sectors that rely on mature process nodes will be plagued by elevated prices and lead times through most of 2023.

Supplyframe today announced that Molex, a leading provider of electronic connectors and components, is deploying Supplyframe’s innovative Design-to-Source Intelligence suite to enhance its existing business and new product development supplier interaction with a single digital platform. Through this partnership, Molex will use Supplyframe’s NPI and DirectSource solutions to bring both electronic and non-electronic commodities spend under management, increase operational efficiency, and accelerate quoting processes.

Through regular exchanges of industry perspectives, long-standing strategic supply chain partners Supplyframe and Jabil, a global manufacturing solutions provider, have developed insights indicating that the electronics supply chain’s new normal is neither new nor unusual. Disruption may ebb, but it is, and has always been, present in the electronics supply chain. Mixed end-market signals and difficulty forecasting demand, paired with the pandemic, have evolved from a black swan event into a black swarm of events. New supply chain approaches and intelligence sources are needed to navigate the electronics ecosystem amid the swarm.

Supplyframe today announced that Majenta Strongheart, head of design and partnerships at the Supplyframe DesignLab, has been named a Supply & Demand Chain Executive (SDCE) 2022 Women in Supply Chain winner. The award recognizes female supply chain leaders and executives whose accomplishments, mentorship and examples set a foundation for women in all levels of a company’s supply chain network.

New Supplyframe data shows an electronics supply chain that is in transition, with uneven changes for end markets and components. But while electronic component availability is improving and prices are stabilizing across many categories, Supplyframe Commodity IQ indicates global supply chain issues, extended lead times, geopolitical uncertainty, and elevated logistics and labor costs will remain problematic for the electronics ecosystem and specific end markets into the first half of 2023.

Supplyframe today announced that it is a Gold-level sponsor of Women in Electronics, a community of progressive women leaders at all stages of their careers dedicated to expanding the opportunities for women in the fast-paced electronics industry. The sponsorship demonstrates Supplyframe’s commitment to progress and inclusion for the future of STEM and the electronics industry.

Supplyframe today announced the launch of The BOM (short for “bill of materials”), a weekly Supplyframe DesignLab Podcast which will present digestible conversations with the world’s leading innovators, hackers, and entrepreneurs.

Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™--Supplyframe today announced that the company will participate in the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™, being held June 6-8, 2022, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando.

Supplyframe today announced that it is the Exclusive Platinum-Level Sponsor of the 2022 EDS Leadership Summit. The company will be at the gathering May 10-13 at The Mirage in Las Vegas providing information about Supplyframe solutions and details about its acquisition by Siemens, which accelerates Supplyframe’s efforts to provide new forms of intelligence to electronics component buyers and suppliers.

New data from Supplyframe paints a grim picture of current and expected conditions in the electronics supply chain, where commodity supply tightness and cost inflation are impacting most inputs across categories. Continuing category challenges at the beginning of this quarter suggest that there will only be pockets of relief through the remainder of 2022 and into 2023 for many commodities.

Supplyframe today announced a partnership with MetalMiner, whose MetalMiner Insights platform provides unique metal market price intelligence. Supplyframe will augment its Commodity IQ solution with MetalMiner’s monthly pricing, and forward-looking analysis and pricing forecasts, for key raw and precious metals.

Supplyframe today announced that the ninth annual Hackaday Prize – a global hardware design challenge focused on widespread and impactful innovation that will award more than $100,000 in cash and a Supplyframe DesignLab residency – will focus on sustainability, circularity, and climate crisis resiliency.

Supplyframe today released research indicating that most consumers anticipate negative fallout from supply chain shortages fueled by the pandemic to continue throughout 2022. This same research shows that the limited supply of vehicles due to a lack of available semiconductors and electronic components has adversely impacted the auto industry’s reputation and led to a shift in customer buying behaviors that prompted some U.S. consumers to buy used rather than new cars – or not to buy vehicles at all.

The latest data from Supplyframe points to seemingly insatiable demand for electronic components and semiconductors for 2022. Global manufacturers can expect severe supply constraints and cost inflation pressure for many component categories into 2023, according to the report. The new industry intelligence also anticipates extended electronic component lead times, with 70% of all lead-time dimensions forecast to increase.

Supplyframe today announced that several electronic components distributors across Asia, Europe, and North America have recently adopted the company’s industry-leading DesignSense ECAD Models service. The list of new distributors onboarded over the past six months includes Chip1Stop, EVE GmbH, JAK Electronics, Master Electronics, Oneyac, OnlineComponents.com, and SE Spezial Electronic.

New research from Supplyframe and Lifecycle Insights indicates that the targeted investments that global manufacturing leaders are making in digital transformation initiatives are resulting in more successful product launches. A new 2021 NPI and Sourcing Study surveyed over 250 product design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain professionals who work in organizations across industries like consumer electronics, industrial equipment, automotive, and telecom. Participating organizations averaged between $750 million and $2 billion in revenue. The results of this study clearly highlight how innovation in the areas of new product introduction and cross-functional collaboration with supply chain, procurement, sales, and finance can improve key performance indicators such as product gross margin, time to market, market share gains, and reduced exposure to supply chain risks.

New research from Supplyframe indicates that most Americans (64%) are planning to get an early jump on holiday shopping this year in hopes of beating possible shipping or other supply chain constraints. More than three-fourths (79%) of Americans said that they have already begun shopping or plan to do so before Black Friday. That may be at least in part because more than a third (35%) of the group said that they have personally experienced order delays in the past year for products that rely on electronics.

The number of commodity dimensions with red status grew again as the industry entered the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the latest Supplyframe Commodity IQ, a unique combination of analytics and analysis that offers predictive and prescriptive intelligence for the electronics industry related to raw materials like resins and metals and components like diodes and DRAM, assembly and testing bottlenecks, component production, constrained logistics, and expanded lead times. The new Commodity IQ report shows that lead time dimensions in red have risen 55% quarter-over-quarter after doubling in the third quarter, and it forecasts that 66% of all pricing dimensions are poised to increase. This is occurring as the industry grapples with Delta variant disruptions, expanding Chinese electricity consumption restrictions, massive end-of-life announcements for programmable logic and other devices, and prices rising by as much as 100%.

Robust technical content and effective content marketing continues to be one of the most important marketing capabilities in educating and influencing technology selection by engineers during new design cycles. In its latest effort to help semiconductor and electronic component companies engage with and influence engineers, Supplyframe today announced an exclusive partnership with Breadboard Media, a recognized leader in video content production for the electronics value chain.

The worldwide shortage of semiconductors is expected to last for years to come amid increasing risk and supply constraints. New Supplyframe market intelligence indicates that significant shortages will continue through the first quarter of 2023 at a minimum.

Supplyframe is celebrating an important milestone for its customer Mouser Electronics. The electronics distributor today announced that since adopting Supplyframe’s DesignSense Models solution for its global audience of design engineers, the company has recorded 1 million cumulative model downloads. That’s an average of 1,000 downloads a day since Mouser began offering ECAD models to visitors of its website.

Many people today shop for and research potential purchases online. Semiconductor and electronic component buyers are no exception. However, semiconductor and electronic component distributors and manufacturers have limited visibility into purchase intent until buyers have already chosen their suppliers and made a purchase. Supplyframe is now eliminating that blind spot with the launch of DesignSense Sales Intelligence, which gives distributors and manufacturers the intelligence they need to understand buyer intent and quickly-evolving market trends to move on opportunities and grow their businesses.

Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

Electronics industry commodity information traditionally has been fragmented and incomplete – and that has limited the ability of supply chain, procurement, and product operations leaders to proactively reduce risks and act on emerging opportunities in the market. Supplyframe’s new Commodity Intelligence Quarterly (CIQ) delivers connected, contextual, and forward-looking expert insights on market dynamics, pricing, lead time, demand, and design cycle dynamics impacting supplier, regional, and raw material trends related to electronic component engineering and sourcing strategies.

New Supplyframe research indicates that more than 40% of organizations launched a customer experience or ecommerce digital transformation initiative within the last year. Yet more than a third of companies (36%) did not launch any major digital customer engagement initiatives in the same timeframe.