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December 2014 • SMT Magazine 61 The industry is already coping with possibly the largest number of serial numbers and labeling configurations of any industry in the world. Failure to meet customer labeling require- ments, especially across multiple customers with differing standards, leads to shipping er- rors, higher freight costs, returns, repackaging expenses, late penalties, compliance issues— and worse—customer dissatisfaction. For an industry already undergoing increased pressure on prices and margins, these outcomes nega- tively exacerbate corporate growth and profit- ability objectives. The above example is about outgoing fin- ished product. But electronics manufacturers have an incoming raw materials labeling chal- lenge—and opportunity. At the same time, the electronics manufacturer's business sustain- ability depends on meeting customer labeling guidelines. In many cases, the manufacturer is taking delivery of raw materials or compo- nents with labels that bear no compatibility or consistency with their labeling system. This means it takes time to determine what exactly has been delivered and from which provider. It means these materials or components have to be re-labeled or over-labeled with product label substitutes aligned with the manufacturer's sys- tem. This takes time and contributes to added expense. The contemporary objective is to have raw materials providers label their products in ways that are consistent and compatible with the manufacturer's operations and labeling methodology. Unfortunately, "homegrown" patchwork systems and solutions that are not enterprise-driven, and do not provide integra- tion capabilities with secure access to a provider of raw materials or components, cannot easily meet this objective, if at all. reliance on compliance: evolving Industry Standards The variety of product labeling standards set forth, or under consideration, by organizations such as the Electronics Components Industry Association (ECIA), Electronics Components Association (ECA), Joint Electron Device Engi- neering Council (JDEC), Government Electron- ics and Information Technology Association (GEIA), now part of TechAmerica, Telecommu- nications Industry Association (TIA), and Con- sumer Electronics Association (CEA) present ad- ditional labeling challenges. Among these are: • CEA-556: Outer Shipping Container Bar Code Label Standard • CEA-556C: Shipping and Receiving Transaction Bar Code Label Standard • CEA-621A: Consumer Electronics Group Product and Packaging Bar Code Standard for Consumer Electronics • CEA-706: Requirements for Using 2D Machine Readable Symbols for Marking and Identifying Electronic Components Beyond these standards in electronics, global supply chain labeling demands to meet guidelines, standards, and regulations are in- creasing at a rapid pace in almost all industries. In the field of electronics, which crosses over with peripheral industries such as chemicals and consumer goods, evolving labeling stan- dards and regulations, sooner than later, will require enterprise-wide labeling solutions in re- sponse to corporate concerns about risk mitiga- tion and consumer safety. Hewlett-Packard recently acknowledged it "maintains information on about 240 chemi- cals that could be in electronics parts but are not regulated, so it knows where the chemicals are being used in case they end up restricted by laws." "With so many chemicals used in the manu- facturing of electronics, and the increasing reg- ulations in the chemical industry such as the Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Com- munication (GHS), electronics companies may have to address the associated challenges of labeling chemicals accurately. But all point to an unmistakable pattern: Globalization, envi- ronmental concerns, chemical substance moni- toring and control, counterfeit prevention, in- dustry regulations, customer responsiveness, best practices, supply chain transparency, data standards, and the need for commonly under- stood product labeling are all critical factors in the smooth operation of a reliable global sup- ply chain." HIGH-reLIAbILITY, Pb-Free, HALOGeN-Free SOLder continues ArTiClE