IC Trends Blog | Electronic Component Supplier News

Looking Back and Stepping forward from CALCE

In attending the CALCE Symposium on Counterfeit Electronic Parts last week in Arizona, I walked away both challenged and encouraged. I have much greater clarity on this issue...and it really includes two main parts. It was incredibly beneficial having all the different pieces of the supply chain present so you could see different viewpoints and better understand the challenges they face. Let me give you an example:

• IC Trends buys a part from a distributor
• We don't have a great deal of confidence in the parts
• We try to get support from the Original Component Manufacturer (OCM)
• The OCM is reluctant to give support and until last week I didn't know why...
• Now I understand that the OCM has economic reasons motivating their decision, but moreover they don't want to be on the hook for parts that they could once verify but now can't because they've been outside of their control

Back to the conference- the counterfeiting problem breaks down into two main pieces:

1. The size of the problem and how many people it touches
2. The complexity of the problem

The counterfeiters are in many cases better financed and becoming more and more sophisticated as time goes by. Our abilities to detect counterfeiting need to increase. I learned a number of new methods by which we can make that happen. Some of those methods are relatively simple and will be implemented immediately, and some are more complex requiring the acquisition of capital equipment and that will happen over time.

In the coming weeks, I'll be blogging and sharing with you some of the methods gleaned from the conference. We'll be putting out literature on the immediate steps that IC Trends is taking to become even more dependable as a partner against counterfeiting. Some of the things you'll see in the next month are:

-Full disclosure of the IC Trends Anit-Counterfeiting Program

-The specific in-house testing and partnerships we have to ensure reputable components

-An outline of our visual inspection techniques

-The steps that we are taking to come into compliance with prevailing and relevant industry standards

IC Trends has always been motivated to excel as a trusted partner in the marketplace. When our customers have the need to move outside their normal supply chains we want to be the first, last, and most trustworthy call they make to satisfy their electronic component needs.

Best Regards,

Joe Stafford

September Electronic Components Requirements

Wow, a huge increase in RFQ`s coming from the Aerospace and Defense sectors this month!