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Securing the Supply Chain: The Ideal Way to Make Your Products Last the Distance
LACROIX Electronics
Most electronics stay viable for more than 10 years, and keeping production going depends, among other factors, on the availability of components which might often have a shorter lifespan. As a result, one risk electronic products have to deal with over the course of their lifecycle is their components becoming obsolete.
Despite the continuing shortage of electronic components in some technology families, lead times are now generally shorter and supply tensions are easing: a clear improvement in the situation means that LACROIX can now produce and deliver to our customers almost normally.
“Components obsolescence can be a true riddle for our customers, but we can help them solve this issue with a quick and inexpensive analysis. From a product’s design phase to the moment it goes to market, we secure production by ensuring components’ availability and by suggesting alternative, more competitive solutions.”
CONDUCTING AN IN-DEPTH OBSOLESCENCE RISK ASSESSMENT: the 4 key focus Areas
Our suppliers send us an alert when a component is about to come to the end of its life. We share this timely information with our clients – but it doesn’t give us a wide perspective on all the relevant components or their long-term availability. This is why, on request, we can offer in-depth analyses of bills of materials and shine a light on the risks associated with all a client’s components, sometimes several years before they are due to fall into obsolescence. This detailed assessment enables us to plan how supplies can be secured and production can be guaranteed over the long term.
We completed a bill of materials analysis for a 113-component product made by one of our industrial sector clients. Our experts did an in-depth study into the obsolescence risks, with a particular focus on components’ lifecycles, their market availability, multi-sourcing (i.e.: the various potential alternatives for each component) and environmental protection measures.
Components’ lifecycles
This focus enables us to use manufacturers’ data to analyse how many components are at major or minor risk of becoming obsolete within five years.
As a result, we are in position to manage any risks well in advance.
The number of potential alternatives to at-risk components
Thanks to the bill of materials analysis, we can uncover how many outlets provide each of the components, whether or not these need to meet specific regulations. Consequently, if a component is reaching the end of its lifecycle, we can study all potential alternatives and evaluate real supply chain risks, the aim being to find as many authorised sources as possible for each item.
Overall market availability levels for each component
In parallel to the actions detailed above, we study how many suppliers are available for a particular product. The greater the number of component suppliers, the lower the supply chain Risk.
Environmental risks
Environmental risks are also analysed, because legal requirements can sometimes compromise sales on our clients’ various markets.
IDEAL RISK REDUCTION SOLUTIONS
“If the bill of materials study reveals that a component is coming to the end of its lifecycle, we have various ways of securing supplies. These include:
- Placing a final purchase order and managing stock that is coming to the end of its lifecycle
- Opening up a second source of identical components.”
- Sourcing similar, pin compatible components with different specifications
The aim behind all these actions is to enable our clients to prolong their products’ lifecycles by an average of five years and avoid the many costs that could otherwise arise. Our methodology can be applied to all the industries we cover:
“However complex a product or whatever market it is aimed at, our R&D centre and supply chain and purchasing experts work hand-in-hand to keep production running over the long term. From studying bills of materials analysis to redesigning circuit boards, we provide a comprehensive service at a reduced price so that our clients no longer need to worry about obsolescence and availability.”
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