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20 The PCB Magazine • July 2017 ordered and approved prototypes, which will be difficult to find, expensive to buy or from countries not accepted by a potential End Customer? • What is the cost of this requalification? • Which measures can be put in place to reduce this risk? Expected Lifecycle • What is the expected life cycle of this product? • What is the future probability of obsolete materials to this product? • What can you do to reduce your future risks in relation to a long life cycle? Documentation • How have you stored information, drawings, agreements, manufacturing specification and compliance documents for the future? • How can you document and trace all aspects of the commercial and manufacturing process in relation to ITAR, for example? Risk Analysis for Requalification of an Article (External Factors) An external factor analysis will at minimum detect the following external factors one should consider when selecting a supplier for an article. Procurement should be aware of their external factors and how to minimize risk and costs for every article in their bill of material (BOM). It is essential to establish a strategy for selecting the right supplier and determine when and how one should address external risk. This is a prerequisite to minimize the chance of an unwanted situa - tion where one must requalify an article at a high cost, with a disruption to your supply chain. Supplier Bankruptcy Examine the financial records, ownership structure and investment plans of your suppli- ers. This will decrease the risk of unwanted sup- plier closure. New End Customer The DFARS regulation is complex, applicable and important for all parts of the supply chain. STRATEGIES FOR COMPLIANCE WITH DOD REGULATIONS INCLUDING ITAR AND DFARS The product owner in a foreign state should consider who the end customers conceivably could be early in the development process of a new product, as this dictates requirements for the supply chain at a much later stage. Conflicts Select suppliers from NATO countries or countries with an defence alliance agreement with the U.S. Reliability Conduct onsite audits, both planned and unplanned, with competent and experienced personnel for the article you are procuring. Knowledge and experience of the manufactur- ing process and techniques is vital for deter- mining the reliability you can expect from the supplier. One should not resort to "textbook standardized audits" as this will in most cases not detect a potential manufacturing challenge. Trade Embargos The U.S. government provides information regarding countries you cannot do trade with. Figure 3: An external factor analysis will, at minimum, detect the following external factors one should consider when selecting a supplier for an article.