Is the industry fragmenting again?

Afdec has just reached the 40 year old mark and has had a five member team looking at where the body should go in the next 40. The conclusion was that a broad based organisation was needed to span the industry 'from concept to end of life'. So get ready to deal with another acronym – ECSN, the Electronics Component Supply Network. According to the ECSN mission statement, it is looking to 'promote positive collaboration throughout the electronic components supply network to benefit members and the economy'. ECSN is looking to cover the industry through five groups: research; manufacturing; distribution; companies; and end of life. Supporting these are groups looking at: environmental legislation; operations and compliance; and sales and marketing. Afdec chairman Adam Fletcher will also chair ECSN. He claimed the new set up wasn't looking to compete with existing trade bodies, categorising Intellect, for example, as a 'lobbying organisation'. But much of ECSN's areas of interest are handled by existing bodies, so competition looks likely. The Electronics Innovation and Growth Team's report, published five years ago now, criticised the industry for being fragmented, particularly in the area of trade bodies. Pointing out that vested interests were being put ahead of the industry's needs, the EIGT report called for a streamlining of these bodies. That was achieved in part with the UK Electronics Alliance (UKEA), which pulled together a number of parties. Fletcher says ECSN will encourage 'greater collaboration' and help to focus on 'pressing industry issues'. But that sounds much like the UKEA's aim of presenting an 'opportunity for the electronics sector to speak with a coordinated voice', to interface with Government and to market the sector. So the question remains; does the electronics industry need another trade association? What might ECSN achieve that UKEA or Intellect cannot?