Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/424967
60 SMT Magazine • December 2014 ent time zones in compliance with a variety of different local, regional, and national regula- tory requirements. This discussion is targeted toward electron- ics industry supply chain and logistics profes- sionals tasked with optimizing their company's partnerships to get more done, in more places, in less time, for the achievement of greater prof- itability and market share. It speaks to the many components that contribute to partnership op- timization and solutions at hand through prod- uct labeling and data standards that can lead to supply chain transparency. The basic concept is simple: If all stakehold- ers in the supply chain can speak the same lan- guage, figuratively speaking, then raw materials and finished products can come and go faster, more reliably, with less waste, and with fewer errors. All this can occur at lower costs for higher margin outcomes, increased customer respon- siveness, and strong competi- tive advantage. No business as Usual in electronics Because the electronics industry continues to inno- vate, the task of meeting the new objective of supply chain transparency and integration is not merely a matter of en- gaging in the same, business- as-usual approach to raw ma- terials sourcing, manufactur- ing, assembly, and shipment processes for a simplistic adaptation to a new supply chain model. For example, the adaptation has to happen in parallel with new trends in unit-level traceability by involving in- creasingly smaller components that defy con- ventional labeling processes. Adaptation has to occur while demands increase for faster line changeovers, faster component and assembly verification, and inspection. It all has to hap- pen at a time when many electronics manufac- turers are looking to emerging countries with fertile opportunities for low cost manufacturing potential through new or acquired facilities. Against this backdrop, data and product marketing standards initiatives in the elec- tronic industry cannot expect to gain traction until ongoing trends and developments can be supported. More well-known issues with a long-standing history of adding complexity to the industry need to be solved. In other words, the electronics industry doesn't just need some- thing different, or something new, unless the solution takes away the burden of current pro- cesses and simultaneously delivers the opportu- nity to leverage the industry to the next level. costly, risky, and Wasteful Limitations If the common systems for product label- ing were working flawlessly, there would be no demand for change. But even just a cursory review of all that elec- tronics manufacturers must accomplish in labeling gener- ates a profile of an approach that is unsustainable. Consid- er, for example, what manu- facturers need to do simply to comply with their customers' labeling requirements as the industry continues to grow and expand product lines. Customer labeling re- quirements often dictate the exact type and placement to be used on the product, box, carton, and pallet. It is not unusual for a major customer to demand exact specifica- tions for label size, data titles, data field identifiers, as well as a dozen or more exacting guidelines for barcode symbologies. For example, one lead- ing electronics buyer provides this guidance: "Barcodes should be within a character density range of 3.7 to 6.9 characters per inch, with a minimum element ration of 2.5:1 to 3.0:1… preferred." And every major customer's label- ing directives can be different. Customers today also want the manufactur- ers to exhibit faster, more reliable, more secure turnaround for the use of new label designs that evolve as products change. This comes at a time when products are changing faster than ever. HIGH-reLIAbILITY, Pb-Free, HALOGeN-Free SOLder continues The basic concept is simple: If all stake- holders in the supply chain can speak the same language, figuratively speaking, then raw materials and finished products can come and go faster, more reliably, with less waste, and with fewer errors. " " ArTiClE