OrCAD X Resources

When Your Component Is Unavailable: Alternates, Last Buys, and Counterfeits 14 www.cadence.com 4.4 Evaluating a Non-Authorized Source When allocation forces sourcing from a non-authorized distributor or broker, the evaluation of that source is as important as the testing of the parts themselves. A source that has strong traceability and quality management practices reduces the probability that counterfeit parts enter the sample at all. Minimum evaluation criteria for a non-authorized source: 1. Traceability documentation: can the source provide a chain of custody from the manufacturer or authorized distributor to the current inventory? A credible source should be able to provide certificates of conformance, manufacturers test reports, or distributor delivery records that can be traced back to an authorized channel. 2. Industry certification: does the source hold AS6081 or equivalent certification for independent distribution? AS6081 is a quality management standard for independent distributors that specifies requirements for counterfeit part detection. It was developed for aerospace and defense but is increasingly adopted as a benchmark for any high-reliability supply chain. 3. Inspection and testing capability: does the source perform incoming inspection on the parts they hold? A credible broker performs at minimum visual inspection, X-ray, and XRF on suspect categories. Some perform electrical testing. Ask for the inspection reports for the specific lot you are considering. 4. References and history: has the source supplied parts to your company or known peers before? A source with a documented track record in your component categories is lower risk than one that is unknown. 5. Sample testing before commitment: before committing to a volume purchase from a non-authorized source, test a sample from the specific lot. The test plan should follow the methods in Section 3.3, scaled to the risk category of the component. For components that are high-value, life-safety-relevant, or in categories with documented high counterfeit incidence, the minimum acceptable approach from a non-authorized source is: full visual inspection, X-ray, XRF, electrical testing at rated limits, and decapsulation on a sample if the component is an IC. If a source cannot support this level of testing or cannot provide the traceability documentation to accompany it, the risk of using that source should be escalated to management before a purchase order is placed. Gray market versus authorized: some independent distributors hold genuine parts from authorized channels that they purchased as excess inventory from OEM purchasing programs. These are not counterfeit risks in the same sense as parts from unknown provenance, but they may have different storage history, date code ranges, and documentation than direct authorized distribution. Evaluate the source using the same framework, the quality of the documentation and the demon- strable chain of custody are what differentiate legitimate excess inventory from high-risk stock.

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