// procurement
hyperscalers procurement market

The Hyperscaler Procurement Playbook, Reverse-Engineered from Public Filings

I get asked a version of this question several times a year. "How do the hyperscalers actually buy optical modules — what are they doing that we should be doing?

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-06-05 / ~4 min read min read
procurement supply-chain forecasting

Lead Times Tell You More Than Vendor Roadmaps

When a module vendor sends you their roadmap slide for the next eighteen months, they're telling you what they want you to plan around. When the same vendor

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-06-03 / ~4 min read min read
procurement pricing transceivers

Transceiver List Price Is Fiction. Everyone Knows It. Procurement Still Quotes It.

I have signed quotes in my procurement file from the same module vendor, for the same SKU, dated the same quarter, that are 38 percent apart. Different buyers. Different volume

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-06-02 / ~4 min read min read
dsp coherent procurement

The Last Three Coherent DSP Vendors and What That Costs You

Six coherent DSP houses competed in 2018. Three remain. That's not really three options. It's one option, one second-source, and a negotiating chip. Procurement teams who

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-06-01 / ~4 min read min read
msa transceivers procurement

MSA-Compliance Is Not Vendor-Compatibility — Procurement Keeps Confusing the Two

The MSA — Multi-Source Agreement — is a document. It is a good document. It defines the mechanical envelope, the pinout, the power envelope, and the management interface for a class of

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-05-18 / ~3 min read min read