Electronic components distributor Avnet has released the results of a new survey detailing electronic engineers’ insights on supply chain conditions and market demand, and the findings show optimism in the former and uncertainty in the latter.

The company’s third annual Avnet Insights survey included the following key takeaways:

• 73% of global respondents say the severity of the component shortage has improved year-over-year, a considerable improvement from 59% who said the same in 2022’s survey
• 29% of respondents are more concerned about market conditions vs. component availability, up from 18% in 2022, showing that market conditions are becoming a bigger concern. Still, component availability remains top concern for the majority, at 69%.
• Overall, respondents are experiencing improvements in their access to a number of components – most notably passives (66%). However, respondents are still feeling some strain with MCUs (20%) and analog (19%) components.
• Hesitation remains around adoption of AI strategies. Avnet found only 4% of engineers are currently using AI in their work today, and only 14% have plans to implement it into their work this year. And despite a small selection who are currently using AI or have plans to use it, a majority of respondents appear to be resistant: more than half said they are not using it and have no plans to (56%).
• The top three supply chain tactics utilized to navigate lack of component availability were Seeking alternative sources for parts (32%, repeating as the top choice); Increasing buffer inventory (19%); and Increasing the timetable of demand forecasts (17%). 
  • Avnet noted that in 2022, ‘Going beyond the current approved manufacturer list’ was the No. 2 go-to tactic, and that 2023’s results showing a decrease in those going ‘off-list’ in favor of adapting inventory or forecasts suggests engineers are looking for longer-term solutions to navigate disruption.

“Our third annual Avnet Insights survey underscored that while many may be feeling more positively about getting access to the necessary components, there is a trepidation about the future. As such, many are looking at what they can do to set themselves up for greater success,” said Rebeca Obregon-Jimenez, Avnet’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Engagements and Supplier Management. “One thing has become certain, and that is the desire to implement long-term strategies that will help ease the impact of any unforeseen disruptions and ensure flexibility in both sourcing and design. The key to this is access to actionable data, which distributors such as Avnet are using today to help OEMs gain more visibility and control in their supply chains.”

Find much more insights at Avnet’s full Insights Survey report here.