Gary Moffat, UK sales manager for Retronix, said: “It’s not always possible to wait for 24 weeks for a device and there’s pressure on purchasers to get products to customers.”
While not all suppliers in the so called ‘grey’ market are handling counterfeit parts, purchasers are advised to pay more attention to who they buy from. “If we can’t stop counterfeits at source,” Moffat noted, “we must have the correct strategies in place to ensure parts are stopped before they enter the supply chain.”
Peter Marston, consultant with end of life semiconductor specialist Rochester Electronics, noted a new wave of obsolescence challenges and, potentially, counterfeit parts. “Rochester has already had to buy a packaging factory because suppliers are pulling out,” he said. “One of the first packages to be affected is the 40pin DIL in ceramic and plastic, but there is also pressure on 240pin PQFPs. The issue with ceramic packages is persuading manufacturers to continue making piece parts.”
He also sees current moves to develop anticounterfeiting standards as a potential problem. “Counterfeiters are now seeing these standards as targets to be met,” he warned. “Customers must help themselves by procuring safely.”
