Experts offer six steps for verifying material integrity.

The annual EMS sessions at SMTA International in October generated discussion to a degree not seen in some time, and much of it centered on the conundrum that is counterfeit parts.

As recounted by Tony Musto of Progeny International (progenyintl.com), an independent component distributor, “The entire supply chain is working hard to verify product integrity and minimize potential for product fraud with forums and services designed to spread information concerning bad supply.”

A flurry of chatter ensued, none of it disagreeing with Musto’s assessment, but rather curious about available means to ferret out sources of bad parts before the components reach the assembly floor.

In response, Musto had several words of advice. “Recognizing the signs of fraudulent material goes a long way to prevent the distribution of nonconforming product,” he says.

Among the warning signs:

Price. “Knowing the price of the material is important, if the price is not where it should be, it is most likely not conforming material.”

Proof. “A good supplier will always be able to produce evidence of good material, such as photographs of the actual parts being sold, as opposed to supplying only a copy of the datasheet and in some cases … will be able to produce a certificate of compliance.”

Date codes. Knowing when product has gone obsolete and obtaining evidence of the date code is a precaution that should be taken before every purchase. Some suppliers of fraudulent material will attempt to sell product with date codes that post-date the last date of production.

Warranty. Any product procured from a reputable supplier will have a warranty that will be 10 to 30 days from the time the independent distributor takes delivery.

Testing. Many reputable offshore suppliers can perform electrical go/no-go test at their facilities before shipping. This sometimes creates a short delay in shipments, but is well worth the time to certify the product is what it is supposed to be.

Escrow. Lastly, the independent distributor should always work with suppliers that accept an escrow service for payment; this will ensure, at the very least, time for visual inspection of the material before payment is made.

“If any of these examples are detected or the supplier will not agree to the terms, the product should not be purchased,” Musto warns.

As we reported in September (“The Component Cops,” page 25), various organizations offer services for detecting and reporting incidents of bad components. The Electronics Resellers Association International (erai.com) gathers, verifies, investigates and reports information received from members and other companies to expose potential problems, and will intervene on members’ behalf to help resolve transactional disputes. ACI (aciusa.org) supplies services, including XRF and microscopy, for spotting counterfeit parts. Other companies and testing labs offer similar services.

During his talk, Musto named other online electronics components sourcing and procurement firms that, among other things, maintain databases of counterfeit parts suppliers: Part Hunter (parthunter.com) and Net Components (netcomponents.com). (Disclosure: Net Components markets its customers’ inventories through a financial arrangement with UP Media Group.)

Ultimately, Musto advises, “There is no substitution for upfront communication concerning nonconforming product. The most successful partnerships with the independent distribution network have these agreements in place to address these issues before product is procured.”

Mike Buetow is editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly; mbuetow@upmediagroup.com. This column appears monthly.

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