The demand for electronics products is strong. Too bad manufacturers can’t keep up.

The problem is a critical shortage of production components, particularly multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Blame any number of factors: a vibrant economy, the internet of things, a surge in smartphone sales, and intense demand for electronic systems by the automotive industry. On this episode, we get to the bottom of the shortfall with Mike Muson, senior director of SaaS (software as a service) with Supplyframe, Inc. He describes the severity of the problem, as well as the ramifications for consumers and business. He offers some suggestions for how manufacturers could have avoided the crisis in the first place. Can future shortages be averted? For companies that have yet to pursue deeper relations with their suppliers, it might already be too late. Hosted by Bob Bowman, managing editor of SupplyChainBrain.

This episode is sponsored by Supplyframe.

Look for a new episode of the podcast, which can be downloaded or streamed, every Friday on the SupplyChainBrain website and iTunes.

Show notes:

A blog post on component shortages.