PHOENIX, 24 Aug. 2007. Every month, three percent of the global pool of electronic components goes obsolete. Yet military equipment and avionics manufacturers build products that are meant to last significantly longer. What can the industry do?
Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, a division of Avnet Inc., has published a paper, "The Best Defense Is a Good Offense," which outlines a variety of tools and services that enable customers to take steps to position their supply chain to handle an obsolescence event -- often before the device manufacturer even makes the decision to discontinue a particular component.
With the support of authorized distribution partners, say Avnet representatives, OEMs can apply advance market intelligence to the new product design process and plan for the inevitability of obsolescence for both new and fielded product, thereby minimizing disruption, added costs and production delays typically associated with component obsolescence.
"The goal is to assure customers have the information and time they need to make sourcing decisions that maximize the sustainability of their systems, instead of reacting to an end-of-life notification and making choices out of desperation," says Bryan Brady, vice president, director Defense Aerospace Business Unit for Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas.
