Obsolescence
Legacy Product Support: How OEMs Can Transition Aging Products Without Losing Customers
July 17, 2026
Legacy product support is one of the biggest challenges facing OEMs today. As customers continue relying on aging systems, manufacturers must balance long-term support obligations with innovation, engineering resources, and product portfolio growth. The question isn’t whether legacy products should be supported—it’s how to do so without slowing the future of your business. You built a great product, and…
Legacy Product Sustainment: How to Exit Aging Products Without Risking Customer Relationships
June 23, 2026
As a Program Lead or Procurement Officer, you are often caught in an impossible bind. You are faced with a “false binary” for your legacy products. On one hand, you can choose to Sustain them, which forces you to pull your best engineers off their NPI “fire” to go fight a legacy “fire drill,” draining resources and…
The Sustainment Gap: Why Technical Data Alone Isn’t Enough for Legacy Systems
June 1, 2026
The Illusion of “Having the Data” For many organizations, legacy systems sustainment begins with a simple assumption: acquire the Technical Data Package (TDP), transfer the data internally, and supportability will follow. On paper, it feels logical. The design exists. The documentation exists. The product should now be reproducible. But many organizations discover the same reality…
The Real Risk of Legacy Products Is Reputation
May 19, 2026
For Embedded OEMs, the risk of legacy isn’t just technical—it’s reputational. When aging products remain in your portfolio without a clear plan for support, the brand you’ve worked so hard to build is what takes the hit. Strategic customers expect continuity. When legacy products fail in the field or can’t be supported, they don’t just blame the product—they question the company. Legacy Isn’t Neutral Holding on to legacy…
Last Time Buy Isn’t a Long-Term Solution: Managing Obsolescence Risk in Legacy Systems
April 28, 2026
Why last time buys fail—and how a structured sustainment strategy protects long-lifecycle programs from recurring supply chain disruption When a critical component goes obsolete, the response is immediate: forecast demand, secure funding, and execute a last time buy before supply disappears. It feels like control—the risk is identified, the inventory is secured, and the issue is closed. Until…
Legacy Sustainment In-House: Hidden Risk for Embedded OEMs
February 9, 2026
What Happens When Embedded OEMs Keep Legacy Sustainment In-House? A quiet erosion that often ends in a sudden catastrophe. The risk isn’t always a single, dramatic event; it’s a slow, silent drift. Systems degrade. Critical knowledge walks out the door. Customers grow frustrated. And leadership is often unaware of just how fragile their internal support has become until it’s too late. …
Strengthening Long-Term Support: 2025 Reflections
December 16, 2025
As the 2025 year comes to an end and a new year approaches, Tania Scroggie offers her reflections as the OEM Relationship Director at GDCA over her experiences over the past year in her latest YouTube upload! Over the four episodes of “Tania’s Teachables” released in 2025, Tania explored the many conversations she’s had with…
Understanding the True Cost of Tech Obsolescence
December 14, 2025
Do we, as an industry, truly understand the full impact and cost of tech obsolescence? Over the past years, the team at GDCA has been doing our best to educate and illuminate the electronics industry on the impact that obsolescence has on every level of our supply chains. Traditionally, product obsolescence was simply managed in-house,…
The Inchworm Dilemma: Why Your Strategy Isn’t Moving Forward
August 18, 2025
Tania Scroggie is back with another episode of ‘Tania’s Teachables’ over on YouTube, this time exploring the hard truth of dealing with legacy electronics in today’s modern world of fast-paced technological advancement. ‘The Inchworm Dilemma’ explores a common challenge facing the support of legacy products–a lack of infrastructure. Grand Plans that Stretch Your Company beyond…
Strategies for Managing Obsolete Semiconductors amidst Changing Global Markets and Supply Chain Issues
August 6, 2025
Semiconductors are literally the backbone of all electronics–and because of that, when a semiconductor becomes obsolete, finding support for it, whether that be replacement parts, fresh components, or repair services, goes from a routine thing to a major problem. Plus, with the current U.S. administration’s tariffs, both in-progress and implemented, the global semiconductor industry has…