G2 Components

Wrangling supply chains ain't easy.

The same forces that snarled the supply chain for chips are the ones that also led to desperate shortages of toilet paper and bicycles. It’s an economic phenomenon called “the bullwhip effect.”

The phrase was coined by a professor researching why the supply chain for diapers experiences wild swings in order volumes even though consumers buy diapers at a relatively constant rate. Turns out even small changes in demand for diapers triggered larger changes in retailers’ wholesale orders, which set off even bigger swings in manufacturers’ demand for the materials to manufacture diapers. Sort of like a cowboy cracking a bullwhip, small motion can have big impacts.

Jack Kilby, Father of the Microchip. In 1958, electrical engineer Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit, also known as the microchip. Jack Kilby has been awarded more than sixty patents for his inventions.

Using the microchip, Jack Kilby designed and co-invented the first pocket-sized calculator called the "Pocketronic". He also invented the thermal printer that was used in portable data terminals. For many years Kilby was involved in the invention of solar powered devices. Most notably, Jack Kilby was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on the integrated circuit.

Thank you for your contributions to semiconductor development, Jack.

It's never ending and we all need to keep vigilant.

New And Innovative Supply Chain Threats Emerging But so are better approaches to deal with thorny counterfeiting issues.