Can something as simple as good planning contribute to anti-counterfeiting measures? Of course it can. But a successful plan has to be proactive rather than reactive. In other words, a plan has to be put in place before a key component in your design ends up as an end-of-life (EOL) device.
The best way to avoid counterfeit components is to put a plan in place while the device is still active. Once a component reaches its end-of-life (EOL), the chances of sourcing a counterfeit part skyrocket. Some companies buy EOL inventory and resell authentic products. Others may take substandard parts and pass them off as EOL devices. A buyer or repair-person desperate for an EOL part might not know the difference.
If you are a manufacturer, look at your new product design and ask the following question: How many of these components will go EOL before my production schedule has reached its end?
Chances are, a good number of these parts will be EOL, particularly if you manufacture a product with a long lifecycle. Any product designed to last a decade or more likely requires extensive certification and qualification approvals. Medical, aerospace, communications, and transportation systems face the EOL challenge every day. So what do you do?
First, talk to a long-term authorized component specialist while the product is still active. Spell out your needs. Try to anticipate how long your production cycle may last to avoid a future hassle. Don't concentrate on what products are funded today, think about what will have to be funded tomorrow.
Few manufacturers can confidently predict how long their product will be in production. Markets and customer demands can change a lot in 10 years. Funding allocations also change. However, a proactive company will plan for EOL anyway and talk to specialists in that market. With a proper long-term supply plan and the right authorized partner, it is possible to ensure a safe, financially-sound supply chain for years to come.
Tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m. PST/2:00 p.m. EST, panelists from Rochester Electronics and Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) will discuss EOL and anticounterfeit measures in a Webinar, The Holistic Approach to Anti-Counterfeiting. ADI, a leading chip manufacturer, has worked with Rochester for more than a decade. As an authorized source for ADI products, Rochester supplies both EOL and active components to ADI customers. The two companies work in conjunction with customers to ensure the authenticity and continuing supply of EOL parts. Find out more tomorrow by registering at the link above.
I won't think counterfeits can be avoided at any cost, but can be minimized to a certain level. Space and Defence establishments are the places where counterfeit components have to be avoided at any cost and they had deployed various measures to avoid counterfeit products/ components. But last year we had read that certain cases that supplier had mixed counterfeit components with space grade materials.
I can see where OEMs may balk at planning for EOL when their product is still new. My guess is there must be an equation where risk (of EOL) is weighed against current and future costs. Is this one of the services EOL planners can provide for OEMs?
Counterfeit has always been a problem especially companies that do not like to change or update their designs especially Medical and Military. Now due to RoHS, if not all good 50% parts are convereted to RoHS due to material restriction and upgrades, so problem is much higher than ever before.
I wonder why no one talks about RoHS as one of the biggest reason of counterfeit.
Don't forget often you can buy good ROHS parts from franchised distributors and turn them into non-rohs and vice versa using ANSI-GEIA-STD-0006 which companies like Corfin and Tin-Tronics perform. Corfin meets strict Navy standards because of the equipment they use. This has helped meet lots of time due to poor planning or EOL issues that you described.
@VG: Funny you should mention that. It was covered on today's webinar on counterfeiting, which will be available in archives soon. Although the component might be the original device, when you change the packaging it affects performance. So even though a device is "authentic" by most standards, changing the packaging and thereby misrepresenting the device (RoHS compliant or non-compliant) technically makes it counterfeit. That was news to me, but it makes sense when you think about it
@obsbuyer: That's good to know. It didn't occur to me until today that changing the packaging on a device can technically make it "counterfeit" in that it might misrepresent the device (at least as the manufacturer intended.) If there are agencies that can do this that are approved, that is the better course of action.
Definitely planning can help thwart counterfeiters. Counterfeiters dwell on demand for a component. If the companies allows some of their team's time to be spent on proactive obsolescence management, I feel many risks in the cmponent sourcing can be avoided. I remember when I was leading this kind of projects for Applied Materials, the team first used to analyze the complete BOM. Check which components are critical design wise. How many sources are available. For all the components check if there is any EOL listed. Talk to the manufacturer on their production plans for next 5 years. Then for components that are nearing EOL, raise a flag and take action. The team also made a database for automating some of these steps. It was a huge success, management found huge ROI in this. I guess for all companies that are in production, proactive obsolescence management must be mandatoty. Its win win for everyone involved
Is not meeting specifications enought to call a part counterfeit? To me a typical counterfeit part is a recycled or bad part that is packaged and falsely branded. It seems to me that a lot of the counterfeits can be caught with adequate incoming inspection.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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