Supply Chain Disruptions: Octopart is Built for This

In the last two years, the electronic component industry has seen major shortages, uncertainty, and disruption in the supply chain. 

At Octopart, we’ve done our best to provide you with the resources you need to keep your projects moving forward through times of scarcity. Here’s how we’ve responded to the current landscape:

Lifecycle Status

Even before pandemic-related uncertainty, Octopart users have always been vocal about asking us to provide more supply chain information, such as manufacturer lifecycle data. In March 2020, we added lifecycle status for over 650,000 parts on Octopart, and that coverage has continued to grow steadily since then. 

Lead Time

Shortly after introducing lifecycle status, we added factory lead time for nearly 3 million parts on Octopart. Selecting components comes with inherent risk, but by accessing lead time on Octopart early in your design process, you can avoid the expenses and delays that come with replacing a component that won’t be available in time. Along with lifecycle status, lead time can help you ensure the parts you’re using in your design will be around when you need them. 

Updated Specs View

When shortages hit, it’s crucial that you can easily find replacements or alternates for MPNs you deem to be too risky or completely unavailable. To that end, we released a new, updated Specs View on our Search Results Page that makes it easier to filter by key attributes and compare specs across different parts.

BOM Tool Updates

After adding supply chain information like lead time and lifecycle status to Octopart, we wanted to make sure this info was available in the Octopart BOM Tool, so that you can upload your BOM to Octopart and quickly scan it to see whether any parts may be difficult to procure. We added this along with an “availability indicator” showing general procurability for each line in your BOM. We also made the BOM upload process more seamless and improved the general look and feel of the tool to make it easier to understand.

Stock Notifications

We saw a pronounced uptick in requests for a stock notifications feature in 2020, and we were able to deliver this brand-new feature by early 2021. Set up a stock notification for your desired quantity and distributor(s) on Octopart, and you’ll be notified within an hour if the distributors’ stock reaches your specified threshold. We may not be able to fix the supply chain, but we can at least help you get what you need when it’s hard to find! To start using stock notifications, sign up for a free Octopart account here, and find complete instructions on how to use this feature here.

CAD Model Marketplace

While not directly related to supply chain disruptions, the CAD Model Marketplace builds on Octopart’s long-time and perpetual goal of bringing more valuable technical resources to our audience. By collaborating with new partners, we are able to open up access to millions more free CAD models than were previously available on Octopart. 

Inventory History

Inventory History is our next step in not only confirming whether the parts in your design will be available when you need them, but helping you understand the larger trends at play and whether the part you’re considering is particularly subject to market volatility. Powered by Nexar Spectra, Inventory History graphs display up to one year of part-level data for over 10 million MPNs on Octopart.com. 

Nexar Spectra

Through Spectra, the new family of data products from Nexar, we’ll be able to deliver even more insights to help you navigate the current industry landscape. For example, you can now subscribe to the Electronic Design to Delivery Index (EDDI), a free monthly report containing category- and subcategory-level insights into industry supply and demand over the past year. The EDDI can help you make smarter business decisions: purchase strategically, identify risk across your designs or component lists, and better identify where and when to seek out alternate parts.

Questions about where to find this data or how to use any of these new features? Thoughts about what we should do next? Drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you.