Tools to stay on top of component obsolescence
From Reed Electronics Group
Going, going, going…gone!
Polly Schneider Traylor, Electronic Business
July 1, 2003
Years ago, procurement specialists and engineers at OEMs and contract manufacturers had few choices upon discovering that a critical part was no longer on the market: swallow the cost and hassle of a redesign or find a reputable broker and pay a 50% or higher markup. Fortunately, in the last few years, third-party companies have begun offering services to help keep manufacturers apprised of product changes and end-of-life (EOL) notifications so they can take action before the part is discontinued.
Even though most semiconductor suppliers follow the JEDEC standards on obsolescence notification—requiring that end-of-life (EOL) announcements reach customers six months in advance of final order placements—the information still seems to fall through the cracks, according to Cliff Frescura, vice president of solutions at PCNalert, an EOL information provider in Pasadena, CA. Component manufacturers and their distributors don't have the time or resources to effectively manage contacts at all but their top customers, so notifications often do not reach the right folks. The results can be catastrophic, he notes: "The whole organization gets turned upside down."
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8/8/2003
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