Avionics News February 2022 - 4

AEA NOW
n a recent AEA Wired poll, we asked the
industry, which of these topics - supply chain,
workforce, inflation or 5G interference - is
PO INT O F CO MMUNICATIO N
THE ONLY WAY
OUT IS THROUGH
I
most likely to continue dominating the headlines at
the end of 2022? By purposely excluding the options
for respondents to select COVID-19 and politics, we
wanted to see what issues may be more top of mind
for our readers and the industry. The method of a
quick poll is certainly unscientific, and
the question itself doesn't specifically
ask if these issues are affecting the reader
directly; it's simply a question of what
they think will be stealing the headlines
10 months from now. In other words,
which of these prominent topics today
will we be reading about in December? In
rank order, the responses were: inflation
(47%); supply chain (28%); workforce
(16%); and 5G interference (9%).
Overwhelmingly, respondents thought
inflation will still be on our plate at the end of the
year. Given this is a mid-term election year in the
United States, maybe there is more to this response
than its face value. Or perhaps our astute readers
know that until supply chain and workforce issues are
under control, these unwelcome drivers of inflation
will continue to pressure rates. Given that inflation
rose the fastest and had the highest percentage
increase since 1982, there is clearly a reason to
believe it won't subside quickly and could continue
through the end of the year.
Interestingly, workforce seems to be less of
MIKE ADAMSON
ourselves to deal with this challenge for almost two
years now. Unfortunately, we are not as adept at
building our own semiconductor factory. As Scott
Spangler points out in this month's " Cascading
Consequences " article beginning on page 20, the
issues of supply chain are not tied to just one
problem. Manufacturers, who had to some extent
forecast these issues, are playing whack-a-mole with
logistics problems that are far beyond
their original expectations. With their
suppliers quoting lead times into next
year or decommitting on orders entirely,
OEMs are forced to re-engineer and
re-source parts for their finished goods.
In aviation, this is not an overnight
process even when everything is running
smoothly.
As these issues impact us as producers,
distributors, retailers and consumers,
communication is critical so that
expectations are aligned. The only way out is through.
The challenges of managing inventory, quoting more
accurate lead times, forecasting sales while managing
costs and customer expectations are truly the topics
that will steal the headlines in 2022. Of course,
you can address these issues head-on at the AEA
Convention in New Orleans, March 28-31, where
the industry's leading manufacturers and their dealer
networks come together each year to find mutually
beneficial solutions, see the latest new products, and
attend regulatory, technical and business training
courses. See details on page 63. q
an immediate concern than supply chain. Maybe
that's because we know how to stretch our human
resources to adapt and overcome some of the nearterm
obstacles, including COVID-19. We have trained
4 avionics news * february 2022
MIKE ADAMSON
President & CEO
Aircraft Electronics Association
Avionics News February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2022
