Most electronics industry professionals agree that the industry is more vigilant and doing a better job of keeping counterfeit electronic components off the plant floor than they were just five or 10 years ago.
But they also say that counterfeiters are getting better at their craft and that detection is becoming even harder—key reasons suppliers can’t weaken their resolve in the fight against counterfeit parts. A host of recent events, including newly released standards and a long-awaited update to the federal government’s requirements for companies who supply equipment containing electronic components to the government, is keeping everyone in the channel on their toes.
“Overall, the supply chain is doing a better job of keeping this stuff out as much as they can—out of the end user’s supply chains,” says Mark Snider, president of ERAI, an association representing independent distributors of electronic components. “But it’s only through diligence that they’re making that happen.”
Snider agrees that awareness of the counterfeit problem has risen dramatically in the last several years, and he points to recent government actions to highlight the problem as a key reason. New standards and regulations surrounding selling to defense organizations is at the heart of the issue and is driving continued change on the counterfeit front. Here’s a look at five ways the fight to keep counterfeit components out of the supply channel is evolving.
