Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM): is a term used when one company makes a part or subsystem that is used in another company's end product. Original Design Manufacturer (ODM): is a company that designs and manufactures a product which is eventually rebranded for sale by another company. Contract Equipment Manufacturer (CEM): is a company who manufactures electronic products, on a contract basis, for other companies. Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS): is where a company designs, tests, manufacturers, distributes and return/repair services for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Contract Manufacturer (CEM): a hiring company approaches a CM with a design. The CM will...

---

Widespread concern is increasing for the need to secure your supply chain and protect yourself against counterfeit products. In the first instance, the key is to use suppliers with full trace-ability all the way back to the manufacturer. When you have no alternative to go to the gray market there are a whole host of tools that you can use to ensure that you are not purchasing counterfeit products as they get more and more sophisticated. If you do not have direct access to these tools then use a reputable company to do it for you. Counterfeit detection tools include:...

---

Why wait for your stock to become obsolete or redundant? The real beauty of our InPlantTM system is that you can sell stock on an ongoing basis when it is excess or slow moving rather than waiting until it is obsolete or redundant. As soon as your forecast takes a dip and you have more stock than you need we can market it the same day. Within seconds we can see your excess stock as a result of us talking to your MRP system (e.g. SAP) and we can market your stock immediately. It is literally live! We have...

---

Not since the year 2000 have we seen such widespread lead-time growth. What is going on? Back in 2001 when I started in the independent distribution industry I used to tell my clients about the 7 year cycle. This theory was fact based with the data coming from one of the largest franchised, electronic component distributors on the planet. The theory had held strong for over 50 years. The belief was that supply typically outstripped demand for a period of 3-4 years creating a very stable supply situation for the buyer. This would be followed by around 2 years of...

---

A Certificate of Conformity (CoC), also known as Certificate of Compliance, is a declaration from a supplier stating that the referenced product complies/conforms to all requirements, standards and/or specifications. A CoC assists with traceability of a product and offers reassurance which is vital in safeguarding your supply chain from counterfeits. Typically less than 1% of our customers request CoC's when ordering products which perhaps shows the lack of importance placed on having this paperwork. At Component Sense we verify all CoC's during our incoming inspection process although delivery notes from authorised sources such as manufacturers and franchise likely...