Authorized Distribution: Your First Line of Defense Aqainst Counterfeit Parts

摘要

Imitation may well be "the sincerest form of flattery" (Charles Caleb Colton, 1780-1832), but there is nothing sincere nor flattering about fake components making their way into consumer products, medical devices, automobiles, and even military hardware. According to ECIA (the Electronic Components Industry Association), depending on the type of component, counterfeits now comprise somewhere between 5% and 25% of all available parts. Counterfeit parts have unknown performance reliability, and they are manufactured with limited quality controls. They can be the cause of product failure and, in the least, result in increased warranty costs, higher inspection and testing costs, lost revenue, and in extreme cases can even lead to a compromising of national security. At a press conference in Washington last summer, U.S.