Supply Chain Reaction

There’s a newly implemented system in China to thwart counterfeit components. Blessed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and jointly supported by the China Quality Management Association for the Electronics Industry (CQAE) and the China Electronic Purchasing Association (CEPA), the Reliable Electronic Component Suppliers (RECS) system certifies and authenticates electronic component manufacturers and authorized distributors that provide products from legal and reliable sources.

Numbers concerning counterfeiting vary from source to source, as do the suggested ways to defend the electronics supply chain against these fake components. In late 2007, the US Patent and Trademark Office estimated that counterfeiting and piracy drain about $250 billion out of the US economy each year along with some 750,000 jobs.

NEDA’s Robin Gray, a top resource on the subject, continues to note counterfeit components as a key concern for authorized distributors. While NEDA maintains that the best way to avoid counterfeit product is to stick with authorized distributors, pockets of chip manufactures, OEMs, and CEMs have cropped up in the electronics supply chain forming their own Web sites and groups that they claim can weed out counterfeit product. The SIA is also looking to protect the industry against counterfeit product. The group in April released a directory of authorized distributors as part of a larger campaign that involves working with customs authorities to seize counterfeits at the borders and encouraging the authentication of legitimate products.

While the proposed ways to safeguard the electronics supply chain against counterfeiting components differ, almost all point the finger at the China electronics industry as a main source of the problem. (Of course, while it may be a main source of counterfeit goods, China’s electronics industry is also one of the biggest in the world and a key driver for any growth components makers see.)

RECS was established in response the growing trend of counterfeit products in China and “is designed to promote legitimate product sources and educate China electronic purchasers to buy from reliable sources of electronics components while ensuring the reliability and traceability of product sources.” That’s according to a release from Avnet Electronics Marketing that hit the wires Tuesday, of course promoting the fact that Avnet Electronics Marketing China is one of the first authorized electronics distributors to be qualified under the RECS system. Premier Electronics, a Premier Farnell company, is also listed on the CEPA site, as well as brands like ADI, Freescale, and NXP.

Thus far, information from reliable sources on RECS is scarce -- at least, information that’s been translated into English. So if you have any info on RECS, drop me a line at sdeffree@reedbusiness.com. Meanwhile, voice your thoughts on the system and China counterfeit problem below.