Vendors told to tighten supply chain as counterfeiting grows

The scourge of counterfeit parts is on the rise, with four reported every minute, according to ERAI data

The manufacture, sale and use of counterfeit electronics is increasing, with almost 6,000 forged parts involved in reported incidents every day.

Numbers from supply chain information organisation ERAI reveal that 12 million counterfeited parts have been discovered and reported since the start of 2007. Incidences have been on the increase, with 1,363 cases reported last year. The number of counterfeit parts involved in these equates to one every 15 seconds.

The majority of cases were reported in the US (33 per cent of all incidents) and China (32 per cent). The origin of the dodgy wares was traced to either Malaysia, South Korea, Japan or the Philippines in 64 per cent of cases.

A major problem is the counterfeiting of obsolete parts, with more than half of all forged components in the decade from 2001 to 2011 being obsolete. Vendors are warned to ensure they have effective end-of-life and life cycle management processes in place.

The ERAI data was detailed by Rory King, director of supply chain product marketing at analyst IHS, on the second day of the ongoing 2012 ERAI Executive Conference. King warned that managing the supply chain for both active and obsolete parts is of huge importance to the industry.

"Although obsolescence management is critical, more than one third of counterfeit incidents are for active components, underscoring that this issue is not exclusively a matter of obsolescence management," he explained.

"Vigilance in managing continuity of supply is very important, and companies need knowledge of actual counterfeit parts that are currently in circulation in the supply chain."