Around 70% of a product’s design costs are realized before it goes into production, after which there is little leeway for reducing them. Post-production decisions can add a further 10 – 15%. The rest is taken up with administration, sales and marketing, product distribution, etc, which are usually part of overall company policy.

When cost reduction consultants look at how to improve company profits, generally the first thing they suggest is to reduce R & D (research and development) expenses. They will place the emphasis on sales, marketing and other post-developmental areas. However, this is tackling the problem from the wrong direction. In both electronic and mechanical engineering, the main costs are decided at the point of inception – when the initial CAD drawings are done. Effective cost reduction management takes place at the very start of the design cycle.

Experienced cost reduction analysts see two common and recurring problems with new technology, such as novel ASIC designs. The first is underestimating how quickly the product can be undermined by the competition, mistakenly believing sales figures will continue to outshine costs. The second is miscalculating production costs, causing last minute design changes, extended periods of development and added manufacturing costs. Poorly budgeted manufacturing BOMs and poor obsolescence management are other areas of concern. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies employ experienced cost reduction analysts, and offer a comprehensive range of component engineering services including BOM cleansing and obsolescence management.

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Good obsolescence management (OM) is about looking ahead and being prepared for the worst that can happen – such as a component suddenly becoming unavailable. consultants point out that OM doesn’t save your business money; it merely stops your costs getting any higher.

Skimping on your obsolescence management services could cost you dearly in other ways: if you suddenly find yourself unable to replace a component it can delay shipments, hold up production and even lead to a total rethink of the system design.

The rate of component obsolescence is increasing year by year, driven by the changeover to mainly COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) components and diktats. In specialist areas like the aerospace industry, where components are traditionally in circulation for several years, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find reliable, genuine replacements for components such as obsolete semiconductors.

Many engineers working in defence and aerospace have got around the problem by stockpiling key components. However, they may not be able to do this much longer. There is talk of aerospace components being removed from the RoHS directive “exemption” list. If this happens, it will be a springboard to widespread component obsolescence. Remodelling of hardware designs and the adoption of new manufacturing processes are just two of the problems analysts foresee.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a range of obsolescence management services, from PCN alerts to alternate sourcing.

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As technology becomes ever more advanced, so products go out of circulation that much quicker. Part obsolescence management (OM as it relates to individual products and components) is an essential area of engineering today. You only have to look at the obsolete semiconductor lists to realize that.

Component manufacturers make a lot of money by placing a finite lifespan on semiconductors, often far shorter than that experienced in use. Without effective obsolescence management tools, engineers can be left high and dry when, eventually, components do wear out – it’s not uncommon for replacements to be incompatible with the originals.

The way to avoid this is by ensuring your plan incorporates reliable lines of communication between you, your OEMs and your customers, so product change notification (PCN) alerts are announced, before they’re imminent, to every member of the supply chain – including the end user. Don’t forget, obsolescence is not controlled by market forces alone. Environmental compliance laws, for example EU RoHS and REACH regulations, come into it as well. Even if a component is currently exempt, an update to the law could change that.

The rules are simple: an effective master data management plan which links engineering BOM (bill of materials) and environmental compliance data to a central database, with regular data cleansing to ensure records are kept uncluttered and up-to-date. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer an extensive range of enterprise data management solutions, from BOM scrubbing to .

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The expansion will incorporate additional component obsolescence management support and second sourcing / alternate parts identification from �ۿ۴�ý. Since 2003, �ۿ۴�ý has been the preferred partner for component information to the European EMS giant, and this expanded relationship signifies the value and quality of services delivered by �ۿ۴�ý so far.

Component obsolescence management is just one of the many services �ۿ۴�ý provides, and can prove essential by helping a company identify components which may be obsolete or on the verge of becoming so. By finding instances where parts are declared as End of Life (EOL) or Not Recommended for New Designs (NRND), �ۿ۴�ý provides early warnings to Clients that enable their planning to handle the obsolescence event. �ۿ۴�ý also finds components which can be Form Fit Functional equivalent replacements for the obsolete or EOL part is unavailable.

“Over the years, we have established a solid working relationship with this European EMS giant, and the expansion of our contract is proof that the relationship has been really beneficial to our Client,” commented a spokesperson for �ۿ۴�ý. “Our fantastic team has vast experience in component obsolescence management, and we have an exceptional reputation for providing outstanding services. We look forward to working further on this engagement, and delivering outstanding value to our Client, by providing high-quality and reliable component obsolescence management services.”

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Environmental compliance management (ECM) is complex, involving a high degree of component cross-referencing, data cleaning and other tasks related to the Bill of Materials. For this reason, many companies invest in specialized system software to help them manage. However, just like 3D modeling, the software can be time-consuming and complex to use. There are also a lot of poorly designed packages out there. For this reason, a growing number of companies are outsourcing the work to enterprise data management firms specializing in manufacturing support, like us at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies.

Effective, trustworthy environmental compliance solutions enable engineering companies to store data, produce ECM reports, perform component cross-reference checks (such as the status of soon-to-be obsolete semiconductors) and manage BOMs. This will enable them to remain REACH and ROHS compliant, at the same time maintaining a smooth onward supply chain to their customers.

Environmental compliance solutions should:

Enable BOM scrubbing, loading and editing.

Simplify data management by storing all relevant documents (Certificates of Compliance, BOMs, full material disclosures etc) in one secure place.

Include a component cross reference library listing compliant components.

Include a supplier management system that can be linked and cross-referenced to other areas of the system.

Include secure data export capabilities.

services like ours use a combination of cutting-edge system software and commonsense to ensure you don’t suffer supply problems or risk prosecution by the RoHS/REACH EU directive.

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Enterprise data management covers a diverse number of areas, not least environmental compliance. With increasing numbers of semiconductors and other essentials becoming unavailable owing to their chemical content, it’s vital you are up to date with the latest RoHS and , and have a risk-based strategy to managing component supplies. Even if your environmental compliance management is watertight, you still need to have a structured plan to avoid component shortages and communication breakdowns.

Even the most basic engineering project today requires a complex bill of materials. The supply chain may be extensive, with multiple agents, and your project will require up-to-date information on component availability, contact information, obsolescence, etc. This in turn means a tight hand on the RoHS/WEEE directives (for example, end dates for exemptions). It means a complicated and multidirectional approach, backed by the relevant system software, but it’s necessary to negate risk and ensure continuity of the product you are manufacturing or maintaining. If you fall behind on your enterprise data management, you risk increased expense, loss of revenue, and even loss of contracts.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a range of , data cleaning and obsolescence management solutions, to suit companies of every size and budget.

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Whenever vital equipment is purchased there are a number of things to consider. One of them is the equipment’s expected lifetime until it may be considered obsolete. The term obsolete means different things to different people – To the tax man, it means that the item doesn’t have much of a resale value any more and many high technology items have tax-lifetimes of below 5 years. Obsolescence to others may mean when the viable warranty and support period is over, thus they are taking a cue from a manufacturer about the product lifetime. In this new age of environmental compliance there may also be green-issues to consider and practices may well force obsolescence upon some equipment.

Once a number has been put next to any high value item, which is the number of years before it needs replacing then a timetable can be introduced to manage obsolescence and a staggering write off and replacement system can be implemented. It helps to feed this into the purchasing procedures so you have enough time to source replacement products.

Of course, some products never go obsolete but they do break, and sometimes they cannot be repaired. It is also worth checking that this may not be the case with something vital for your business. If it is, consider buying some more at the start so you have hot-swaps just in case.

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The most obvious part of to most people is that eventually, the state of the art components you used in your products are going to be replaced by different ones that perform differently and it may well come to the point where you may not be able to get the old components at all any more. If your company makes a number of products then it may be sensible to discontinue the older products and to design replacements that are better, faster, stronger and cheaper than the previous ones. In this way, to a small degree, you can get more sales by selling upgraded products to your old customers; however, care must be taken not to be doing this as a money making ploy or customers will lose faith.

However, a more subtle form of obsolescence is in working practices. As newer environmental compliance laws keep coming in, working practices are changing and more and more needs to be done to keep green. The law may well dictate that you cannot use older components any more so you may well be forced to upgrade designs and products to keep in line with this.

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