Editor’s Note: Kevin runs Procuretech, a San Diego based purchasing company, and a terrific partner here at Plannedscape. Their business is providing hardware/software procurement services. As always, Kevin describes how it really is in hardward and software purchasing. Not only is Plannedscape a partner of Kevin’s but also a client - it saves time AND cost while enhancing value.


Oh yes supply chain bottlenecks. To me the question was: what's all the fuss about. During the past several months, so much of what we've heard has been about "empty shelves in the super markets" and "no gifts for the kids".


The Reality

Give me a break. Here in the United States, we are such a consumption hungry country that the mere thought of not having an overabundance of whatever it is you think you’ll need in the future is almost unimaginable. When it comes to the consumer market, we have first-hand evidence. Just a few weeks ago I recall walking through the many stores and malls for my last-minute gift buying over the holidays and I didn't see any less product than in years past.


Software And Hardware Procurement

On the electronics front I was bracing for this news to really affect my business. My main responsibility I have to my clients is to be able to deliver the laptops and network gear they require to get remote users up and running. But to my surprise it wasn’t as much of a displacement as I was expecting. Yes, we did have to pivot a bit and dig deeper for the products we needed and did manage to get thru the worst of it unscathed.

Again, all the fuss that this was going to disrupt businesses was supposed to be due to lack of chips coming from China. Over the years at Procuretech and in the hardware purchasing industry in general, we have gone thru ups and downs of components being delayed for various reasons - some examples over the years have been a fire at a large factory; slowdowns attributed to the Chinese New Year; or even a shortage of silicon (which is crucial element in chip making). We’ve heard it all. Now we can add supply chain bottlenecks to the list of mild obstacles to normal purchasing processes.


The Bottom Line

I can happily report that stock levels are at a all-time high and I believe we have weathered the worst of it.