Commercial Integrator January 2021 - 14

SMB INSIGHT
Three Keys to Dealing with AV Supply Chain Issues
While exploring other vendors is a good idea, compromising on quality for the sake of availability
could cost your firm some business. by Zachary Comeau
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC has had
a profound impact on the global AV supply
chain as factories are operating at less-thanfull
capacity, coupled with growing demand
for devices that help assist remote work.
According to Rob Ziv, vice president of
business development and strategy at AV
distributor Almo Professional A/V, the most
common delays are cameras and USB audio
products due to a variety of factors: delays
in the manufacturing process, legislative
changes in the manufacturing of chip
sets due to security issues, and the high
demand for these products - particularly
in the education space.
Purchase Orders: Early And Often
" Some manufacturers have done a great
job of stocking up on camera lineups to
meet a broader range of education needs, "
Ziv says. " The good news is we are seeing
production increasing for both cameras
and USB audio products. "
Large integrators that have the resources
and financial ability to stock up on certain
items, but many others in the industry aren't
global players and don't have the necessary
means to order stockpiles of devices that
are anticipated to fly off their shelves.
Especially for small businesses, integrators
need to be nimble enough to adapt on
the fly, and that means thinking ahead and
getting purchase orders in early in anticipation
of demand for some devices.
" The best advice is to get P.O.'s in early to
lock down on product allocations, " Ziv says.
Transparency Is Key
One of those integrators meeting these supply
chain issues head on is Wisconsin-based
Lifeline Audio Video Technologies.
President Scott Wright says the company
has been communicating these issues to
customers in the event a project is impacted.
" We have had several customers state
they will sign a contract as long as the system
is installed by X date, " Wright says.
" Previously, we had to look at our instal14
As
the supply chain continues to be impacted by the ongoing pandemic, integrators
need to set expectations for staff and customers alike.
lation schedule to see if we can accommodate
this request. Today we have to prepare
the customers that we will do all we can
to accommodate them, but availability of
product is outside our control, " he says.
In some cases, Wright's firm has not been
able to find a specific piece of equipment,
but found comparable products that come
at slight price increases.
" We had to let the client know to see if
they wanted to wait or pay the difference, "
Wright says.
However, the integrator should also
require transparency from distributors and
manufacturers on when product availability
will be an issue.
" We need to stay in constant communication
with our primary vendors/manufacturers
to know when product availability is
an issue, " Wright says.
Working With Alternative Products
According to Ziv, integrators also need to
start building flexibility into their purchase
orders to protect against these inevitable
supply chain issues.
" It's also important to build flexible
options into the P.O. so that if there are
manufacturing or shipping delays with the
Commercial Integrator JANUARY 2021
'plan A' specified products, alternatives can
be considered, " Ziv says.
" This is a lesson that some integrators
unfortunately had to learn the hard way. "
If your preferred vendor of PTZ cameras
or other conferencing solutions doesn't
have any product available and is transparent
that it won't be able to meet your
customers' deadlines, now it is time to
investigate other vendors and learn about
different products.
Don't Compromise On Quality
For Availability
When that situation comes up - as it as
often in recent months - staff at Cory's AV
takes time to learn the ins and outs of these
unfamiliar products so they can install and
program them as expertly as they could
with their preferred products.
" When we can, we try to bring in a
demo unit if it's something we aren't familiar
with to demonstrate to ourselves and
our tech guys, and to make sure it is something
we can stand behind and support, "
Gotcher says.
" I don't want to compromise a relationship
because we sold an inferior product just
because it was available, " Gotcher says.
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Commercial Integrator January 2021

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