Gearing up for 2026? Don't be complacent

Flip Electronics’ president, Bill Bradford, encourages OEMs to engage an authorized distributor specializing in obsolescence to keep production lines flowing smoothly in 2026

With all the hype surrounding GPUs and other AI accelerators, it’s easy to lose sight of the CPUs, ASICs, memory chips and other components that remain technology workhorses across sectors. Unless, of course, you’re an engineer facing down an end-of-life (EoL) notification or searching for an obsolete semiconductor to keep a production line or multimillion-dollar piece of equipment running.

The double and triple ordering of critical components that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic produced historic levels of buffer inventory, which have been slowly working their way out of the supply chain ever since. This has given OEMs a reprieve but the inventory has largely cleared out of distributor, end-customer and manufacturer warehouses, although EMS companies still have quantities on hand.

Designers, engineers and procurement teams in mil/aero, industrial, automotive, medical and other sectors with legacy equipment that relies on prior-generation components are well advised to keep a close eye on availability. Components still become obsolete with regularity, a trend that won’t change as manufacturers trim and refocus their product lines. Similarly, component manufacturers should closely assess remaining pockets of inventory to ensure their customers aren’t caught off guard when demand for crucial parts heats up, as it inevitably will.

We’re already seeing increased outreach from component suppliers looking for product extension solutions for their customers, plus customers with EoL notices in hand.

Bottom line, as we gear up for 2026: don’t be complacent. Those buffer inventories won’t be around forever.

To read the article on ESNA, click here: https://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=691ed998172a5#25