Zeev Efrat, CEO, CybordThis year was a breakout year for Cybord. We launched our platform for component analysis solutions and traceability. Came out of stealth mode, completed a successful funding round, and ended the year having inspected more than three billion components. Not bad for a startup!
The major trend driving the industry in 2022 was component shortages, and I expect more of the same in 2023. The demands in the market are shifting to more industrial electronic components that are still in shortage. Yes, some parts are easing, and a softening in demand due to economic factors may ease things further, but rest assured, it won’t all be fixed when we get back in the new year.
The shortages are just one factor that has led OEMs and some forward-thinking EMS companies to adopt a zero-trust approach to the supply chain that requires 100% inspection of the parts they use. This year our AI- driven software has inspected billions of parts at goods inward, on the placement machine, and at the AOI stage, all to provide quality assurance and surgical traceability that improves yield and performance in the field and massively reduces any potential recall.
Predicting the future is no easy task, but I am confident that the companies that will thrive in 2023 and beyond are those that embrace digital transformation, AI, automation, the digital twin, and every other aspect of Industry 4.0.
OEMs want manufacturing partners that have complete control over their manufacturing processes and supply chains, which comes when this zero-trust ideology is applied. If we’d got to the end of 2022, inspected billions of parts, and found no issues, I’d say don’t bother. But the truth is there are a lot of component issues that can cause massive damage to a product’s reliability and to a brand’s reputation.
So, there you have it: zero-trust supply chains, more automation AI, continued growth in electronic demand, and slowly but surely the easing of component shortages.