Fujifilm's ingenious new idea to combat camera delays? Get more parts!
Like so many of the leading camera manufacturers, Fujifilm has struggled with parts shortages. This has resulted in long delays, long waits for customers, and a backlog of orders that the company just can’t keep up with. But now it looks like it has found a simple solution: get in more parts from suppliers.
We've reported a lot of delays since the pandemic. It’s as if humanity never really recovered from factory and manufacturing issues, and sadly that meant that almost every camera release since has been later than planned. Take the Fujifilm X100V, which was released three years ago; you still can’t walk into a shop and buy one because it's so in demand. When the Fujifilm X-S20 was released in May, the company warned of stock issues almost straight away.
Every time Fujifilm releases a camera, it seems to receive more pre-orders than expected. While this is great for the company, it isn't quite so good for the users who end up waiting months to get their hands on a shiny new toy. It does make you wonder: why can’t Fujifilm (and other manufacturers, for that matter) just get more parts in? Surely it must be as simple as buying more, so you can manufacture more cameras more quickly.
According to a report by Fuji Rumors, the company has been looking into buying more parts from different suppliers in an effort to start a full-scale operation that will reduce costs and increase inventory. The X100V was once so in demand that Fujifilm Japan had to suspend orders for 8 months as it caught up with the backlog, so a new parts solution can’t come fast enough.
According to Jiji.com, since October last year, Fujifilm is expanding the number of parts it is sourcing to 30,000 parts in total from 30 suppliers by the end of this financial year (March 31, 2024).
There isn’t a single camera in the Fujifilm lineup that wouldn’t benefit from having a more stable parts supply. Not only would extra parts reduce waiting times but, should a particular camera go on sale or get suddenly popular due to a TikTok craze, there’s more chance of being able to keep up with orders.
Whatever the case, we’re just glad that it’s being addressed – and we hope we don’t have to continue to write articles about camera delays.
The best Fujifilm cameras covers everything from compacts to APS-C to medium format, and the best Fujifilm lenses are some of the best in the industry. Don't forget that Fujifilm, through its Instax brand, makes some of the best instant cameras as well!
