Supply chain problems for mobile phone components
Currently, almost all mobile device manufacturers are having problems meeting their delivery commitments. There is a shortage of chips due to worldwide supply chain problems. The causes are manifold: in addition to the Corona pandemic, the zero-covid policy of the Chinese state and the traffic jams at world ports, the currently ongoing Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia are also among them.
Supply chain problems for mobile chips
Manufacturers of cellular-enabled devices are experiencing widespread problems due to the bottlenecks. For the most part, ready-made chipsets are installed – so-called SoC (System on a Chip), which consist of all the necessary peripheral components needed to operate the cellular chip. Typically, the SoC consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and other components such as the communication modem for GSM, UMTS, LTE and 5G. In most cases, these are supplied as a complete unit by one manufacturer. The headquarters of the production facilities are usually in China, Taiwan, Japan, but also in the USA and occasionally in the European Union. If the SoC is no longer available due to supply chain problems, the production of the end devices comes to a complete standstill. The consequences of this are, as has already been felt for some time, supply bottlenecks of measuring devices and other end devices.
Causes
The causes are manifold. Important to know: Some of them existed before the corona pandemic and the Ukraine war:
– Container ships are increasingly stuck in traffic jams outside the ports. In some cases, the logistics of the ports are overloaded due to technical failures and staff shortages.
– The Chinese state continues to insist on its zero-covid strategy and sends entire districts or even cities with millions of inhabitants into lockdown because of very isolated outbreaks. This leads to production losses.
– The new Silk Road (overland route from China to Europe) is now being used less by carriers because of the risk of war. It runs partly through Ukraine.
– Of course, not only chips are missing, but also other preliminary products. Among others, the Azov steel plant in Mariupol, which is currently being fiercely fought over, is an important steel supplier.
– Lack of production facilities in the West. The planned expansion of the chip industry into Europe will help prevent bottlenecks in the future.
Why ENQT is less affected:
ENQT GmbH was already thinking about possible supply bottlenecks before the pandemic and invested in various measures at an early stage to be more independent of global events. One particularly effective element in the fight against bottlenecks is local production. The end device has already been manufactured in Hamburg since the company was founded in 2017. In the process, the number of modules prefabricated by other companies has been steadily reduced as the product chain has evolved. In addition, there is the software-side acceptance of different components. In the course of the pandemic, for example, there were delivery problems with the batteries or cellular modems. However, due to the broad compatibility of the electronics as well as the software, it was quickly possible to select and install another module with the same quality standards.
