Technology has been the leading weapon in brand owners’ arsenal for fighting counterfeit components and products. Big data and analytics, automated monitoring and removal services, blockchain, modular customization and intra-component communication are currently generating interest among industry leaders and their supply-chain partners, according to the Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA). Counterfeit components…
The cloud and edge computing have come to the industrial world and they’re here to stay. Whether one thinks that’s a good or bad thing, it’s now inevitable. These shifts have been accelerated by the enormous expansion in remote workers due to Covid-19 and their many unmanaged or insecurely managed devices, along with the connection of millions…
Engineers aren’t that different from procurement professionals — they have more to do and less time to do it. And, like purchasing experts, they are happy with their jobs. More than 1,400 engineers participated in a semi- annual survey conducted by AspenCore Media publications EETimes and EDN. The 2020 edition of the “Mind of the…
Customers of electronics component distributor Digi-Key, which specializes in design and engineering orders, have told the business over the years they’d like to buy more products from Digi-Key. The company has responded. The distributor most recently launched the Digi-Key Marketplace, which significantly expands its product scope into automation and control, IoT, test and measurement, bare…
As pandemic restrictions begin to transition toward a less restrictive environment, business managers across the country are planning and implementing their reopening strategies. Lessons have been learned through this crisis that will influence both near- and long-term plans and operating procedures. Looking at the state of the electronics components supply chain and the need to…
A supply chain practice called design registration has dogged the electronics channel for decades. Distributors support their component suppliers by getting their parts designed in to an OEM end-product. In order to be compensated for that effort, distributors must “register” that design with the supplier. Once the OEM device reaches production, the distributor may receive…
The latest in a series of Pentagon semiconductor initiatives seeks to embed security features into chip designs that would allow silicon architects to probe economics-versus-security tradeoffs while baking in security throughout device lifecycles. The chip design effort represents continuing U.S. efforts to secure its electronics supply chain as semiconductors emerge as a choke point in…
Editor’s note: EETimes and Aspencore have dedicated an entire site — and a lot of staff– to covering CES 2020. Check out the stories, the podcasts, the gadgets and our best-in-class analysis at https://ces.eetimes.com/ The supply chain is one of those things that nobody cares about until something goes wrong. Then it’s everybody’s problem. Remember…
When sourcing box build services, manufacturers must evaluate the sophistication of the provider’s assembly tools and methods, the strength of its engineering team, and the breadth of its capabilities. Sophistication of tools & methods Sophistication of tools does not always mean shiny new million-dollar equipment. It can be as simple as using specialized hand tools…
At a recent Cognitive Sourcing Summit, hosted by LevaData, EBN sat down with Kevin Purser, head of global supply chain sourcing & procurement at Fitbit to find out about the company’s supply chain strategy. Purser joined the company in 2015, having worked in senior supply chain positions at several global electronics manufacturers including VeriFone and…