Memory shortage pushes engineers to design around availability, survey finds
Engineers are increasingly choosing memory components based on what they can actually get, rather than on performance or price. In a survey by Memphis Electronic, 95% of respondents said they had changed their sourcing strategy, their product designs, or both, over the past year.
The survey was carried out together with EETech and covers more than 100 engineers in North America and Europe, according to a press release from Memphis Electronic. Availability was the top concern, cited by 69% of respondents, followed by pricing (62%) and lead times (46%).
The shortage is now showing up directly in product development. More than a third (36%) said they had redesigned products around memory components they could reliably obtain, and nearly a quarter (24%) had delayed product launches. Eleven percent had discontinued products altogether. Nearly half (46%) reported increased engineering effort.
“Historically, engineers selected memory based on performance, density, and cost. Today, availability and supply continuity have become equally important, and in many cases more important. The shortage has moved beyond purchasing departments and into engineering and product development,” says Nikolaos Florous, Global Head of Product Marketing at Memphis Electronic.
Many companies have chosen flexibility over optimisation. Around 42% have increased inventory planning or safety stock, and 39% have qualified alternative memory suppliers. Just over a quarter (27%) have moved to older or more readily available memory technologies. In the survey, legacy products such as DDR3, DDR4 and low-density eMMC were mentioned considerably more often as an expected challenge than leading-edge memory.
At the same time, few respondents feel able to plan ahead. Only 6% said they were genuinely confident in forecasting their memory needs over the next twelve months, and nearly a third had little or no confidence in their forecasts. That may explain why only 13% have signed long-term contracts or supply agreements.
"The data shows that this is not simply a pricing cycle waiting to be resolved," Nikolaos Florous added. "The impact of supply shortages has already been designed into products, qualification processes and sourcing strategies. Decisions made under today's conditions will influence product lifecycles for years to come."
