on that basis there may be a few surprises in store - commercial...

on that basis there may be a few surprises in store - commercial considerations are dominating negotiations and agreements atm
- Prepayment is becoming the norm -
securing supply lines in advance is on the rise ie GM securing a first of its kind agreement dedicated line with GF well into the future / Phison has recently announced ( NAND flash memory maker) it will prepay into the future lines as supply chain disruption is financially costing them contracts
Micron collected $600+million in prepayments in Q12024 - huge
DB H would most definitely broker / facilitate prepaid agreements with their contract customers into the future ( automakers) and weebit would I suspect be a key partner in those arrangements

the stand alone pathway steps you mentioned are also now incorporated into these partner agreements
as smart companies move to actively collaborate in those processes which speeds the line/process
this allows certainty for the customer on product line and manufacturing time horizons - as well as accurate manufacturing, sales and inventory data - the prepaid agreements are incorporating these factors


something to keep in mind now -
time will tell