IT Hardware Supply Chain Challenges: The Untapped Potential of Refurbished Equipment

The world looks different from how it was before the pandemic. This is particularly evident from an IT hardware supply chain perspective. Material sourcing issues are even worse compared to the pre-vaccine-rollout era. Higher costs and longer waiting times of IT equipment supply are creating ripples across the supply networks. This has constrained businesses from importing products and replenishing their stocks.

Nobody expected these disruptions of the IT hardware supply chain to extend well into the latter part of 2022. The freight conditions are gradually settling back to pre-pandemic levels. But, a burning question still lingers in the minds of experts and business owners alike-

Is the next supply chain disruption yet another virus strain away?

Taking Business Strategies Back to Square One

Businesses are under great pressure to increase in-house production. Additionally, they also need to offer more jobs and design new production strategies. Most business firms rely on different suppliers and subcontractors for manufacturing, but a multitude of hardware supply chain issues has driven these businesses into a supply shock.

Majority of the business continuity plans (BCPs) failed to pull through the pandemic. Businesses could not grasp the actual impact of these plans on their day-to-day activities. This resulted in complex and costly continuity strategies.

The previous year, 70% of consumers switched retailers or brands due to an out-of-stock item. Customers still need lower prices, same day deliveries, and prompt service fulfillments. Failing these would result in losing them to the competition!

The IT Hardware Industry Caught In Crossfire

A recent survey among 200+ leaders from the electronics hardware industry showed that

- 53% had their new product launches delayed or canceled due to the supply hardware chain concerns

- 37% experienced a huge surge in component costs of IT equipment supply.

The IT hardware industry has suffered the hardest blow due to chip shortage. The components for flash drives, NAND chips, and other memory types have become hard to source. This also affected servers, ethernet switches, power circuits, and other networking systems.

Semiconductor sourcing is largely concentrated in a few Asian countries. These countries are facing challenges like trade wars and extreme weather conditions. This has been shackling the IT hardware businesses.  Most of these components move through many storage facilities. There is a lack of visibility to trace these movements. This increases the chances of manufacturing errors and counterfeiting practices. Industry leaders are trying to tackle these challenges using ‘nearshoring’ or localized procurement. They need to ensure enough inventory buffer to tackle future supply hardware chain disruptions.

Refurbished Hardware to the Rescue

Industry experts believe that these supply hardware chain problems could stay longer. Hence, planned hardware industry supply chain strategy. Businesses need to sort out their factory, transportation, and logistic plans. The right way forward is to make use of what the market already has in stock. It's high time the market tapped into the potential of refurbished devices supply chain.

Refurbished IT Assets are carefully restored to their original factory settings by experts. The worn-out components get repaired or replaced with the highest quality parts. This hardware is gaining traction as a worthy alternative to the supply hardware chain hurdles.

Cutting Down Manufacturer Lead Times with the Right Maintenance Partner

Refurbished products have a higher availability, even for legacy and end-of-life hardware. The third party providers offer faster turnaround times and lesser waiting periods. It is a win-win opportunity for companies with high quality purchases at lower costs. Refurbished hardware has the same quality of new hardware with 30-60% lesser costs. They get tested and certified for quality, extended life, and enhanced performance.

The providers offer extended warranty periods, 24x7 support services, and better quality components. This has a much lower cost compared to the maintenance contracts from OEMs.

With each refurbished component, the buyer leaves a lesser carbon footprint. We have more than 347 metric tonnes of e-waste on earth as of 2022 and only 17% of it is being recycled. The use of refurbished components will have far reaching benefits into our future.

Reliability, Stability, and Better ROI with equal2new®

CXtec is the largest secondary-market hardware provider in North America. Since 1995, they have partnered with companies across different industries for Refurbished devices supply chain. equal2new® is their exclusive brand of certified pre-owned equipment. It offers authentic, cost-effective, high-quality, and reliable equipment.

equal2new® offers a vast stock of ready-to-ship components of top brands. It has a far reaching network across the continent with faster turnaround times. equal2new follows the testing, certification and reconditioning processes of the highest industry standards. Over the years, the company has a proven track record with a 99.51% reliability rating for refurbished devices supply chain.

With a reliable hardware partner like equal2new, organizations can tackle their hardware chain challenges. Refurbished equipment is also a step towards greener IT, fewer greenhouse emissions, and a minimal environmental impact.

To learn more about our premium refurbished products, visit: https://www.cxtec.com/hardware/equal2new/used-network-equipment/