Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/304995
90 SMT Magazine • May 2014 The company's website, as mentioned on this list, is a great tool for aiding in the iden- tification of illegitimate firms. Generally, dis- tributors that prove to be unscrupulous are not very forthright about their business on their website. An unwillingness to accurately identify their office's location, the firm's man- agement team, and which (if any) manufac- turers that they are an authorized distributor for are all causes for major concern. While a detailed and accurate website is no guarantee that a firm is legitimate, a shady Internet pres- ence should be looked upon as such, as it usu- ally indicates that the distributor in question does not offer the counterfeit protection and transparency that is needed by today's elec- tronics industry. When part numbers are searched for on these questionable websites, they are invariably shown as being in stock. After doing business with these companies, however, it becomes clear that they are not masters of supplying electronics, but are rather masters at search en- gine optimization. When sent a request for quote, these com- panies have not looked for the parts at the time that they submit a quote, and in fact do not begin searching until they have received a pur- chase request. When they can't find the parts, these companies will offer excuse after excuse, until finally abandoning the deal entirely, wast- ing the buyer's time and ultimately leaving the end customer, often military personnel, with- out needed components. An additional factor that should be taken into consideration is the firm's background. For example, are they certified? If so, are the certifications from accredited organizations that utilize third-party audits? Does the firm use terms like "compliant" instead of "certi- fied"? If so, this is an indication that the dis- tributor in question is trying to reap the ben- efits of association with an accredited certifi- cation program without undertaking the work necessary to become certified. An additional consideration is the firm's standing with in- dustry and regulatory bodies: Are they in good standing with organizations such as the ERAI, the Better Business Bureau, and Dun & Brad- street? Another idea to consider is whether the company has made a conscious effort to im- prove their credibility within the industry. For example, have they been able to effectively complete the ARP 6178 Risk Assessment Tool? Also, are they willing and able to answer ques- tions regarding their counterfeit avoidance plan? Finally, the firm's efforts to ensure that their clients receive quality parts should be in- vestigated. To what degree do they test their product? What is their warranty policy? Will they provide a test report and put in writing the exact quantity that have been tested? Is the test facility itself certified? If the parts fail, will they cover the cost of testing? Do they do the tests themselves? Who trains them in testing protocol? These things should be key consid - erations when deciding to do business with a distributor. Ultimately, these are the things that you should look for in an independent supplier: • Certification—efforts to gain industry credibility • Transparency—in person and on the internet • Testing—willingness and ability Although some independent distributors do not operate in a legitimate fashion, there are many that do. These firms that operate ethically and provide their clients with qual- ity components and service are essential to the modern electronics industry. To separate one category from the other, it is important to know your supplier rather than buy your parts based on random Google searches. Ul- timately, trust begins with transparency and testing. SmT Todd Kramer is Ceo of Secure Components llC, an aS6081 & aS9120 certified independent distributor of electronic and mechanical components to the aerospace, defense, and high- reliability industries. To contact Kramer or to read past columns, click here. KraMer on CoMponenTS INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUToR continues