How Supplyframe Transforms Sourcing and Procurement for Telecommunications and 5G Leaders

The global telecommunications market is growing at a rapid pace. Current projections show that the market could reach €2.8 trillion by 2031. Drivers of demand are coming from nearly every angle, including E-commerce, entertainment, healthcare, and even transportation. All of this, of course, is also fueled by continued global 5G rollout as providers seek to close the digital divide. 

Amid this growth, new EU telecom supplier registrations create additional challenges for 5G rollout. The need for faster, more reliable, more resilient supply chains has never been greater. Join us as we explore how Supplyframe can help address challenges and drive digital transformation across the industry. 

Challenges and Opportunities in the Telecommunications Landscape 

Telecommunications and 5G leaders face many of the same challenges as other electronics verticals. This includes navigating limited supplies of semiconductors and other highly specialized components often used across industries. 

1- Navigating Geopolitical Complexities 

Other vulnerabilities, such as the origin of the electronics parts, have become a major consideration for supply chain leaders. In light of the geopolitical tensions, trade regulations, and natural disasters in the last few years, sourcing from reliable manufacturers has become a priority. Accurately tracking and reporting this information is crucial but often requires substantial manual effort.

2- Competing For Critical Components

Moreover, companies in the telecommunications sector frequently find themselves competing with other manufacturers for standard parts in electronics sourcing. This competition exacerbates the already challenging task of securing critical components, further straining supply chains.

3- Lack of Collaboration & Automation in Data Gathering

In addition to technological hurdles, telecommunications leaders face significant challenges in their product design and supply chain processes, similar to those faced by other electronics verticals. A major pain point is the cumbersome task of data gathering. Organizations often use outdated data tools such as Excel spreadsheets, leading to inefficiencies and decision-making delays. 

The manual updating of databases is labor-intensive and prone to errors, as it requires frequent alignment with manufacturers to ensure accuracy. Without collaboration between engineering, sourcing, and procurement, decisions are also made in a vacuum, which can often lead to disruption in redesigns or costly spot buys that carry a premium. 

4- Meeting Sustainability Standards

Among these issues, companies are now under pressure to balance sustainability with minimal insight into their scope-3 emissions (those related to logistics and supply chain). Yet, many lack the tools or visibility to do so effectively. New regulations and expectations around sustainability are putting pressure on manufacturers to seek new ways of measuring and mitigating their overall emissions. 

Meanwhile, OEMs in the EU are facing new complexities surrounding legislation that bans “high-risk” suppliers like Huawei and ZTE for 5G network infrastructure. Eleven of the twenty-seven EU member states have implemented this legislation, including Sweden and Germany. In contrast, others, like Italy, have opted to examine the issue on a case-by-case basis. 

These pain points and competitive pressures highlight the pressing challenges that telecommunications leaders must overcome. Addressing these issues will require technological advancements and a more integrated approach to sourcing, procurement, and supply chain management.

How Supplyframe Addresses Blind Spots in Supply Chains 

Supplyframe’s recent industry survey on digital maturity echoed some of these challenges across all verticals of electronics sourcing. According to the results, only 1% of organizations can proactively identify sourcing issues before they impact the supply chain. 

Furthermore, 80% of OEMs pay premium prices for electronic components due to a lack of insights and the need for spot solutions. Many procurement organizations in the electronics industry are experiencing volatility in component costs and lead times. 

Supplyframe’s Design-to-Source Intelligence capabilities allow telecommunications leaders to transform their entire NPI process with real-time intelligence and contextual insights that lead to smarter, more profitable sourcing decisions. 

Supplyframe NPI allows teams to analyze and validate their bill of materials for risk, part availability, lead times, and other forms of real-time market intelligence.

These capabilities provide a more resilient supply chain foundation, but successful digital transformation requires a holistic approach. Supplyframe’s intelligence platform's full capabilities allow industry leaders to make smarter decisions at every stage of the product lifecycle, from design to sourcing and beyond. 

Enabling Process Transformation Across the Enterprise 

Beyond our NPI capabilities, Supplyframe’s Design-to-Source Intelligence also incorporates decision support for commodity managers, allowing for strategic sourcing at every level of the organization, especially during the design-to-source process. 

Supplyframe Commodity IQ is a decision support platform providing commodity-level insights from real-world engineering and sourcing activities. Demand-based intelligence such as this allows companies to tap into a large network of OEMs and industry partners to inform their commodity strategy. 

Supply chain and sourcing teams use Commodity IQ to achieve immediate and ongoing cost savings by understanding trends impacting component availability in key markets across the global electronics ecosystem. This enables better strategic planning and assurance of supply.

Your Partner for Holistic Digital Transformation 

Supplyframe’s industry-leading platform and real-time intelligence support a holistic digital transformation for telecommunications leaders by introducing key capabilities across the product lifecycle, including: 

• Access to a dynamic, “living BOM” that accurately reflects price, lead times, risk factors, and readily available alternates
• Streamlined quoting with access to historical pricing and market intelligence for effective supplier negotiations. 
• Decision support and reliable forecasts across all major electronics commodities are needed to support strategic sourcing initiatives. 

As a Siemens company, Supplyframe’s intelligence integrates seamlessly with solutions like Teamcenter to effectively integrate external intelligence and insights without disrupting existing processes. 

The overall 5G industry has the potential to create entirely new applications across various industries, including automotive, immersive tech, and IoT. Still, much work remains at the infrastructure level. 

As 5G technology spreads to other industries and related components experience higher demand, a resilient and agile supply chain will be more important than ever. Learn more about Supplyframe NPI, Commodity IQ, and our other solutions at Supplyframe.com.