Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1527276
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2024 looks at it for the first time, they will say, "If I adopt this, it will triple my prices." e tech- nique is to invoke it only when you have an issue with the supply chain—when you know you did not buy it from the authorized distrib- utor for whatever reason. Nowadays, I fully understand that there are conditions where people will need to buy from the "open market." at is when you must decide whether to invoke that inspection regime, the AS6171 risk-based mitigation. We are not telling everybody to use XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) and increase the lot cost by $5,000 every time. Just because AS6171 is very elaborate, it doesn't mean every test method is needed for every part. That's a critical point. Das: The second point is that EMS companies should look for autho- rized distributors that are AS6496- compli- ant , the author ized distributor standard. at may sound like overkill; the issue is that an authorized dis- tributor and an origi- nal equipment manufac- turer may have a contrac- tual agreement, but that does not authorize the distributor for every single product, application, and market. Intel makes it the clearest on its website. For example, there may be nine companies autho- rized as Intel distributors in a country. e moment you want to get the Intel network card, it's down to three companies. Change to another item; it's now down to two com- panies. So, an AS6496-compliant authorized distributor will clearly identify when they are not authorized for a particular product rather than imply that they are authorized for every- thing. e purchasing manager in a large EMS house is one of the busiest people I know. ey track as many as 50,000 things. When you work with somebody who is AS6496-compli- ant, you can have confidence that you will not accidentally get hung up with a bad or non- authorized distributor. You cannot rely on rela- tionships when it comes to avoiding counter- feits. is must be a mantra for the purchasing agent: Something is only authorized for that specific transaction, and not in a general sense for every part number at every time period for every customer. That makes a lot of sense. Das: We have spent quite a bit of time on packaging inspection. If the Texas Instrument logo on the box is wrong, chances are the stuff inside is no better. e documentation that comes with it also mat- ters. We are working on a documentation standard now and look forward to dis- cussing it with you in more detail once it's been released. In some ways, the beginning of this "standard documentation industry best practice" means weaving in the appropriate existing methodologies and blending them into your existing business practices. If you look at AS5553, it is the tem- plate for an organization's counterfeit mitiga- tion plan. It is where it all started. Internalizing counterfeit detection processes in your orga- nization and conforming to SAE standards are important for EMS suppliers and everyone in the supply chain. It becomes more important every day. This has been enlightening and interesting. Thank you both for your time. SMT007