The risk of encountering counterfeit components has risen significantly in recent times. The sheer scale was highlighted by a US/EU customs operation which seized 360,000 counterfeit electronic components over a two-week period late last year.
As more counterfeit components appear in the supply chain the risk of a catastrophic system failure in the field increases.
All of this points towards a need to help assemblers, both OEMs and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers, minimise the risk of sourcing counterfeit components.
So what is the magic bullet? How can you even begin to tackle a problem that is global in nature from a purely UK perspective?
These are difficult questions to answer. But there is a role for a cross-industry body such as Intellect in making a concerted attempt to minimise the risk our members are being exposed to. It is also worth emphasising that Intellect advises all assemblers to source components from authorised distributors.
In our view, this is the best way to minimise risk. However, we accept that in some cases, for perfectly valid reasons, this is impossible. Independent distributors can and will continue to be used.
The vast majority of reports that Intellect and other organisations have received relate to components obtained through independent channels, known by some as the grey market. In partnership with the UK’s biggest independent component distributor, Astute Electronics, and Bedford EMS provider Axis Electronics, we have formulated a set of procedures which we will ask all UK independent distributors to implement in order to minimise this risk.
Intellect will contact all independent component distributors with a UK presence and request that they commit to the finalised set of procedures. These procedures are split into three separate streams of activity.
The first relates to ongoing measures that any UK independent distributor should take to minimise the risk that they will encounter counterfeits.
The second details the specific checks that a UK independent distributor should make when they receive an order for a part.
The third relates to the specific actions that a UK independent distributor should take dependent on the nature of the source. Together these activity streams will help to ensure that the given part is genuine.
Following a commitment to implement this system, the independent distributor will be placed on an Intellect “approved list”. This list will be circulated free of charge to those who request it. Independent distributors will also be requested to publicly display a quality mark logo that signifies that symbolises this commitment. We expect to begin implementation in the summer of 2009.
That is all well and good, I hear you say, but how do we ensure the commitments made are honoured? In parallel with our work, the UK Electronics Alliance (UKEA) is tendering for the design of a counterfeit component information site, which will include an online reporting system. Using this, assemblers will be able to anonymously report cases of counterfeiting. The reports will include information detailing the distributor from which the counterfeit was sourced.
If a distributor that holds the quality mark is reported via this system, the mark will be rescinded and the party concerned notified, with a right of appeal.
We accept that the vast majority of independent distributors do not knowingly supply counterfeit product. There can be no hard and fast rule about who is removed from a given list and under what circumstances. All of these measures concentrate on minimising risk. At the end of the day, the “buyer beware” principle must prevail in any purchase.
Henry Parker is a programme manager at Intellect.