Where does the design manufacturer go?

Compared with foundries that share opportunities in the food industry, fabless IC designers face numerous challenges.
 
At present, the foundry delivery period has been continuously extended to more than 3 months, and getting the goods as soon as possible has become an urgent problem for many design manufacturers. The recent 8-inch wafer capacity of newly cast wafers may not be able to keep up with the gold shipment deadline at the end of the year, and I am afraid that it will not be available until the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest.
 
The most critical issue naturally relates to the ability to grab production capacity. In order to ensure sufficient production capacity, many IC design manufacturers have already begun to actively book production capacity for next year, and some long-term orders have even been placed in the second quarter of 2021.
 
To win the battle for production capacity, the most direct way is naturally to increase prices. However, this method is only suitable for large companies such as Qualcomm with strong capital and close relationships with suppliers. Small IC design companies and startups will face higher risks.
 
Under the scramble for production capacity, orders crowding out of each other began to appear. Many foundries will screen orders and adjust product portfolios, prioritizing the production of high-margin products. Among them, LCD driver IC and MOSFET chip orders with relatively low gross profit margins are likely to be unable to grab due production capacity.
 
Transfer orders are also one of the outlets for design manufacturers, but it is not so easy to operate. SMIC is the main force of local 8-inch production capacity. Although its total production capacity accounts for less than 5% of the world, it is still a very important supplier of foundry capacity. Under the changing political and economic situation, design manufacturers need to consider the issue of transfer orders. But the global production capacity is tight, I am afraid there is nowhere to go.