Over the past two years, many Americans have become familiar with the term “supply chain” as first, pandemic, then recovery has played havoc with our ability to get what we need when we need it.
Before 2020, consumers had become accustomed to receiving products in a somewhat reliable and predictable timeline. Then the world shut down. Factories and ports closed, and the people who make and ship things stayed home. And we all learned that global supply chains are highly dependent on healthy people, factories that work, and transportation that carries raw materials to manufacturers and to buyers.
Today, although basic consumer products are back on store shelves, CENIC and its community of partners and constituents continue to experience the impact of a slowdown in supply acquisition within the industries served.
“Our commercial partners have informed us of the multiple ways they’ve been affected by supply chain issues,” said Robert Kwon, Associate Vice President of Core Engineering. “Think of it – any network service or circuit requires cabling and equipment, and disruptions to the supply chain slows both the manufacture and delivery of necessary parts. Without predictable delivery estimates, procurement is now much more challenging for all of us.”
Fortunately, CENIC has a nimble and flexible engineering team that has leveraged the relative strengths of its network and relationships to manage extended delivery timelines.
“Today we must plan much farther out. The average lead time for equipment used to be 6-8 weeks; now it’s 18-24 months,” explained Tony Nguyen, Senior Vice President and CIO. “We must continue to improve forecasting of future needs.”
“At CENIC this means coordinating with our members and commercial partners, maintaining flexibility, and monitoring and managing the myriad issues impacting delivery of goods and services. Wherever possible, CENIC is leveraging its commercial partnerships to reduce the impact of supply chain gaps through priority processing of targeted orders,” said Nguyen.
Some organizations are more aware than others of where parts and materials originate. Repeated shutdowns of factories across China slows production for a range of technologies and their components. “One of my colleagues shared that this is the first time in over thirty years that he has had to be concerned with every aspect of the supply chain and the complexity involved in sourcing components,” Nguyen continued.
As always, the CENIC community is working collaboratively to address whatever challenges we face. And, as with most Americans in 2022, we have become quite adept at being prepared to pivot when needed.