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One of Electronic Partner core values is the reliability of the material we purchase from our suppliers. In the case of grey market sourcing, we place critical importance on testing in order to give our customers the necessary peace of mind.
Counterfeit chips increase costs for victims of fraud and make products that use them more expensive. They can also have potentially deadly consequences. For example, a counterfeit chip in an AI device could pose privacy risks, and a counterfeit chip in a car or medical device could endanger human life.
This is why testing is necessary to ensure safety and reliability for the end user by ensuring that each part is compliant.
Chips can be rebranded or otherwise modified to look new. The fact that they are not genuine is becoming increasingly difficult to detect, thanks in part to AI’s ability to generate more believable images, logos, labels, and prints.
Counterfeit chips and clones are functionally and visually very similar to the original manufacturer’s products. Clones often have what is known as a “security back door”, which allows hackers access or hidden features designed to create a greater security vulnerability.
Counterfeit chips are also often recycled or salvaged chips, defective components, and/or rejected parts that enter the supply chain. They are also often the result of overproduction by the manufacturers themselves, or the output of a production run of prototypes never intended for the market. Although they may not cause catastrophic failure, they may malfunction under certain conditions or fail before their normal expected lifetime.
To ensure the functionality and compliance of the components we supply, we ask a number of test houses, which we have selected over the years, to supply a history of any non-conformities on that particular item, as well as the date code and batch; from their response we can determine how reliable they are.
Once we have completed the process of selecting the test house that we feel is best qualified for the job, we ask them to recommend the tests they feel are most appropriate to ensure the quality of the items.
Typically, the test houses will recommend functional tests, which are not the same as the manufacturer’s tests, but may even detect possible B-class components.
As a professional and independent distributor of value-added products for over 22 years, the use of external test houses is not only necessary but essential. It allows us to provide our customers with the needed peace of mind backed up by test reports confirming the compliance of the material.
For Electronic Partner, this is fundamenta, not only for our customers but also for the end user.
External laboratory testing plays a key role in ensuring product safety, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction. By providing impartial and expert testing services, they help companies in a wide range of industries maintain high quality standards. Whether it ‘is consumer products, pharmaceuticals, food, and drink, or electronic components, working with a range of reliable and professional third-party testing laboratories is essential to the success of your business.
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