The chip shortage has reached headlines across the globe. The shortage in the supply of semiconductors first hit the automotive industry during the COVID-19 pandemic causing global disruption. We can trace the chip shortage back to the first two quarters of 2020 when overall consumer demand for cars declined during the lockdown. The chip shortage forced chip manufacturers to shift their focus from low-end chips in the 40-250 nanometre scale to more high-end chips used in computer and mobile devices with the latest GPUs and CPUs built on 7-nanometer (nm) technology. 

 

As 5G, and cloud-based services grew, more people worked remotely. Therefore, more chips were needed for communication platforms like Zoom and video streaming services.

 

Many chip factories have retooled their machinery to produce newer chips that were in demand before the pandemic and are not likely to retool to the current demand for older processors until the 1st quarter of 2024.

 

At TSD Africa, we recognized the delay in the supply chain early enough when our vendors started communicating manufacturing constraints at the beginning of 2021. To prepare for a shortage in supply and to continue to meet the demand by maintaining the high standard expected from our reseller's expanding client base, we took a phased approach to the situation to best adapt our product offering. 

 

First, our RnD department was tasked to source and test alternative products that sharpened our perspective and helped us ask the right questions: 

1) Which brands are innovating? 

2) What do quality and stability mean to the individual using the product? Next, educating our resellers on product alternatives helped create confidence and brand awareness and exposed them to new technologies. After a few product launches, our sales team was geared to offer quality alternative brands to a now more aware reseller base. TSD Africa offers a broader choice of selected quality brands, allowing our resellers to become more dynamic with their approach without compromising on quality or disrupting the administration process involved with maintaining these products or providing a quality service to their customer base.