What’s this chip shortage about?
You may have heard recently about a chip shortage from your local news source. This chip shortage is affecting anything with a computer chip in it. You may not be surprised to know that this includes cars, cell phones, printers and computers, but may be surprised that it also affects home appliances and televisions. With an increased dependency on “smart” devices just about everything can have a computer chip in it now.
So, what does this really mean? We are in the “perfect storm” for computers right now. With a large increase in work-from-home positions, a push in cloud computing, an earthquake and a fire at a major Japanese computer semiconductor plant, and of course a global shutdown due to Covid-19, have really set production back. Estimates on how long this shortage will last are scattered all over the spectrum but experts are currently predicting to see improved production within mid to late 2022.
If you wish to read more in depth, Forbes has posted an article on 7/12/2021 with additional details and preparation planning.
What is pute.us doing?
We are currently reviewing our options to procure a larger volume of inventory to assist with all items such as workstations, laptops, printers, servers, etc. Unfortunately, we are just as subject to the global shortage as others and are seeing delivery dates scheduled almost 2 months out from the order date, and even as delivery dates near orders are cancelled as they cannot be fulfilled.
What can YOU do?
The first course of action is assessing needs vs. wants. It sounds cliché, but we all want the latest and greatest technology sometimes. During this high demand time, it’s best to determine your needs. If your product is new, has a few ugly blemishes, or you just want a new one, you may want to consider holding onto it for a bit longer. If your product is rendered unusable, extremely slow, constantly crashing and all the things that cause you to want to toss it across the room, then let’s certainly work towards getting it replaced for you! Just note, delivery times are unusually high at this time, so creative problem solving may be our best bet in the interim.
Final Notes
As your facilities continue to navigate the pandemic with your clients, we share the struggle with navigation of our own to do. We appreciate your understanding that this is not a pute.us issue but a global shortage.