Ben Kim should be held up as a shining example of what it means to have
PROCESS CONTROLS over the entire supply chain.
This means using parts from certified suppliers, and materials as well.
I have such strong feelings on this issue, I also have to apologize for
taking this string slightly off subject, but let me pass on this example
so you do not need to go through all this as well. This example involves
flux, but it could be any material, or any electronic component, and I
have seen this same thing happen at several different companies in
different forms.

Distributor A was willing to purchase wave-solder flux by the gallon and
re-sell it. Anyone can do this. Distributor A was not recognized by the
flux manufacturer as a certified distributor. Distributor A openly
competed with the certified Distributor B, and led his customers to
thinking he was also authorized to sell the flux as a certified
distributor. His price was slightly higher, but he negotiated lower
prices on other materials so his customers would buy the flux from him
along with other items to save on shipping costs, etc. 

The flux manufacturer knew Distributor A was not certified and allowed
this to happen, even over Distributor B's objections. And why not?
Distributor A was a volume customer willing to pay more for the product.
And besides, how was the flux manufacturer supposed to be able to
control who buys the product and sells it? This, of course, happens
every day.

Because there were certain functions that needed to be carried out to
preserve shelf life and to keep the flux solids from settling, and also
to maintain control of lot traceability, the flux manufacturer wrote a
detailed instruction that was sent to all of the certified distributors
of record. Distributor A, not being on the mailing list of certified
vendors, never received this instruction. Distributor B did, and
followed the FIFO system, and rotated the containers to prevent the
solids from agglomerating and coalescing into a thick, viscous syrup on
the bottom of the container. Vendor B also arranged the flux within his
warehouse to maintain the traceability records.

During routine process checks of flux, it was noted that the alcohol
volume of a certain lot of flux fell below the minimum requirement. This
caused certain performance problems with the flux and exacerbated the
clumping and settling issues. Several users notified the flux
manufacturer of the problems at about the same time the problem was
recognized by the quality control personnel. A recall of the bad lot of
flux went out to all certified vendors. The certified vendors in turn
notified their customers and made arrangements to return the bad lots.

Guess who was not notified of the problem?

About this time the buyer at a certain biggie-sized EMS company
negotiated a volume buy of flux from Vendor B and also some from Vendor
A. When the bad lot of flux hit the factory floor, it clogged up the
flux pump, lines, and stones/sprayers, etc. Problems with flux skips
began to occur, leading to solder defects. Eventually the process
engineer had to shut down the line, perform extensive maintenance on the
wave-solder machine, coordinate containment action on all of the
affected assemblies, perform inspections and rework, etc. He called the
vendor (B) he knew as being the certified distributor and reported the
problem. The buyer was also notified and checked his stock and returned
the bad lots. Distributor A still was not aware of the problem, and he
had just shipped another order of the bad lots of flux to the EMS
customer. The second lot of bad flux hit the floor, and they repeated
this costly adventure a second time.

This same scenario can be repeated for any given epoxy, roll solder,
maskant, tape, MD-RAM, diode, you name it. 

Supply chain controls and practices are just as important, perhaps even
more important, as process controls in the manufacturing arena. Buying
only from certified distributors who are knowledgeable and trained in
supply chain management should always be a priority. Having product
verification procedures in place for buying from non-certified vendors
is also a must. With all of the problems with counterfeit components and
materials being reported today, not having these procedures and controls
in place is inviting disaster.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ben Kim
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 6:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] Oxidized PCBs (Counterfeit parts)

Rich,

Counterfeit parts are definitely a growing problem.  But if you only
rely on factory delivery, you are still left with a line down problem.

There are many scoundrels selling counterfeit parts in the gray market
and it hurts all of us as a whole, but there are also many more reliable
distributors that do deliver as promised on a daily basis.  I know many
independent distributors who run very clean operations by supplying
stock from reliable OEMs/CEMs and a set of established trading partners.

But when a part can only be sourced from a questionable supplier with a
reputation for selling counterfeit/substandard parts, a good distributor
should inform your buyer of the situation and recommend against the
purchase.  If you are so desperate that you decide to proceed anyway,
there are still many steps that can be taken to prevent counterfeit
parts from getting anywhere near your boards, such as rigorous vendor
screening, visual inspection, and various levels of electrical or
functional component testing.

But you need to work with a distributor that is open, direct, and honest
with you.  If they're only looking to make a quick buck and make
promises they cannot deliver, then I guess you might end up with an
expensive set of scrap boards.

In my opinion, the key to sourcing components is in the processes you
setup, same as in production.  If you have bad processes in place or do
not practice and improve upon them diligently, your problems will build
up and bite your behind.

I know this wasn't the main point of your discussion so my apologies if
I'm off topic, but I just wanted to share my experience from a
supplier's perspective in case it may be helpful down the road.

Best regards,

Ben Kim
[log in to unmask]


======================
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:17:55 -0400, Rich Wolbert <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Wayne,
>
>...Sorry to hear you had the same experience with the counterfeit 
>parts. It seems like you have to buy direct from the factory to get the

>correct
parts.
>
>Rich
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Wayne Thayer" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 9:59 AM
>Subject: Re: [TN] Oxidized PCBs
>>
>> ...We've been nailed by counterfeit parts too, so I feel your pain!
>>
>> Wayne Thayer
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rich Wolbert
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 8:32 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [TN] Oxidized PCBs
>>
>> OK, I know you guys are probably going to shake your head on this 
>> one, but I have to ask. We have a double sided fine pitch SMT 
>> assembly and we decided to go to white tin for the pad material. 
>> Here's where the problem comes in, we ran one side and when we 
>> started process the other side we found counterfeit chips. We stopped

>> production for two weeks until the correct parts came in. When we 
>> tried to run the boards again, the PCB's oxidized so badly over the 
>> two weeks that we can not get the solder to wet. Any suggestions, 
>> other than scrapping the 170 assemblies at $600 a piece?
>>

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