Top 3 Things to Consider When Sourcing Electronics


Top 3 Things to Consider When Sourcing Electronics

Sourcing the right components is vital for manufacturing a successful product, especially when there are so many potential supply chain disruptions such as counterfeit components, coronavirus, and natural disasters. Within this article I am going to pinpoint the most important things to look for when sourcing electronic components.

Avoiding Counterfeit Components

Counterfeit components are a huge threat to electronic supply chains globally, including the customers themselves. The counterfeit market is growing year on year which affects authorised manufacturers. According to Fact-UK.org.uk, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) reported that international trade in counterfeit and pirated products is now worth up to €338 billion (approx. £300 billion) and with this increasing demand for everything to be online, brands, businesses and consumers are now finding the digital world flooded with fake goods. Not only this, stated by cscglobal.com, it is estimated that one in ten IT products sold worldwide are counterfeit. Many manufactures create counterfeit electronics purely for a higher profit margin. According to US Today, a California man tried to import fake computers, which would have been worth $2.6 million if genuine. He was sentenced to more than three years in prison. This is one of hundreds of cases whereby people have tried to smuggle counterfeit items to sell and make large profit margins.

Stick with Authorized Distributors

There are a few global companies who specialise in finding solely authorized component distributors for potential buyers. One example would be ‘TrustedParts.com’, an American founded company that was previously known as ECIA Authorized, which searches solely authorized component distributors, so buyers avoid counterfeit components. ECIA works extensively on an ongoing basis to verify that price and availability data displayed on TrustedParts.com is only for products for which the distributors are authorized/franchised, stated by the company themselves. Not only will authorized distributors allow you to purchase components with confidence, it also means they are likely obtaining a strong reputation and will be efficient with lead times and customer service.

Prioritise Home Soil Manufacturing

With COVID19 circulating the globe, were unsure of whether there will be a second wave. So far, we have seen how detrimental the virus was for manufactures and distributors globally. With most Wuhan factories shut during the peak, global delays occurred on most manufacturing goods. One  benefit of home soil manufacturing is if there was a second peak, delivery times may not be as delayed as if they were being shipped from overseas.

By Amy Leary, Marketing Manager at eBOM.com


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