Counterfeit Parts Prevention: Materials Management from ControlTek
The concern over counterfeit materials and parts isn’t exactly new, but it is receiving increasing attention after the Senate Armed Services Committee published a report in May 2012 that went so far as to call the issue an “unacceptable risk to national security and the safety of U.S. military personnel.” Strong words, but appropriate for an issue that’s been estimated to cost billions in lost revenue and product failures each year.
But military and defense equipment manufacturing isn’t the only place counterfeit parts are found, and at record-breaking numbers. According to some reports, the use of counterfeit parts in both military AND non-military components has seen growth as high as 400% between 2009 and 2011.
Counterfeiting often takes place when previously used parts are cleaned up and resold as new products, or when a lower specification “lookalike” product is used in place of its higher quality original. While this doesn’t ensure a counterfeit electronic part will be defective, the chances of a product that’s simply been rehandled and resold being unreliable increases greatly over products that are properly handled, tested and sold.
Proper functioning of electronics parts is critical to the safety of non-military equipment as well as military. Efforts at counterfeit parts prevention take place all along the electronics supply chain. The government is working to stop this by imposing harsher penalties not just on counterfeiters themselves, but also on companies that don’t do enough to safeguard their customers against the sale of counterfeit parts.
At ControlTek, we’ll not only make sure your materials management is painless, we will also take steps to safeguarded ControlTek customers against the use of counterfeit parts. Our staff will work with you to assist you in finding reliable alternatives for obsolete and scarce components in order to ensure only safe and reliable products are produced.
Learn more about Materials and Supply Chain management or any of our other electronic manufacturing services at ControlTek on our Manufacturing page.
