The combination of technology and market forces is reshaping the automation supply chain for machine builders. Where can you turn for guidance?
The manufacturing sector’s labor shortage continues to increase the demand for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), which in turn accelerates the need for controllers, motors, drives, sensors, processors and other components.
AI-powered analytics can improve supply chain resilience, allowing companies to foresee disruptions, optimize inventory and identify alternative component sources.
At the same time, the push toward open architectures and vendor-agnostic automation mitigates the risks of vendor lock-in, creating a more competitive and diversified marketplace. This shift favors suppliers who adhere to common, published standards, enabling system integrators and machine builders to source from a broader, more flexible network of specialized component providers and clearing potential regional bottlenecks.
However, a significant segment of automation components relies on rare earth mineral availability. These minerals are essential for high-performance elements like powerful permanent magnets in industrial motors and the polishing processes for high-end semiconductors.
Over-reliance on a few geographic regions for these raw materials makes the entire automation component supply chain vulnerable to geopolitical risks and export controls. Finally, market forces dictate that manufacturers innovate for efficiency and speed, which clashes with the cost and complexity associated with finding or designing substitutes for rare earth-dependent components, forcing a trade-off between supply chain security and performance specification.
Navigating these hazards and avoiding a backlog similar to the one we experienced following the COVID pandemic, not to mention the ever-changing minefield of tariffs, can be daunting.
Register now to join Hargrove Controls + Automation’s Karen Griffin, Arthur G. Russell’s Dr. Brian Romano, DigiKey’s Eric Halvorson, Beckhoff’s Daymon Thompson and Siemens’ Bernd Raithel for a panel discussion on steering clear of supply-chain troubled waters.
About the Author
Mike Bacidore
Editor in Chief
Mike Bacidore is chief editor of Control Design and has been an integral part of the Endeavor Business Media editorial team since 2007. Previously, he was editorial director at Hughes Communications and a portfolio manager of the human resources and labor law areas at Wolters Kluwer. Bacidore holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is an award-winning columnist, earning multiple regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He may be reached at [email protected]
