Traceability for Supply Chain Resilience
Better insights into component storage and manufacturing history can open up new avenues for a more resilient supply chain.
15 Apr, 2025. 5 minutes read
Understand the Future of Component Traceability with Our Latest WhitepaperThe semiconductor industry drives advancements across critical sectors such as aerospace, medical devices, automotive, and industrial automation. But despite semiconductors' transformative impact, the industry's logistics pose significant challenges, particularly in maintaining the continuity and reliability of supply chains. Traditional methods, notably the "two-year date code," have increasingly failed to meet the modern demands for traceability and quality assurance. |
In industries where product lifecycles span multiple decades, semiconductor traceability is an operational necessity. Whereas consumer electronics typically cycle through supply chains in a matter of months or years, components used in aerospace, medical devices, automotive systems, and industrial control applications must maintain reliability over extended lifespans. Therefore, failure to maintain traceability introduces risks that go far beyond logistical inefficiencies and could potentially lead to compromised safety, financial losses, and regulatory non-compliance.
The increasing complexity of global supply chains, coupled with the growing threat of counterfeit components, has elevated the importance of robust traceability frameworks. By maintaining a comprehensive, transparent chain of custody, traceability systems provide manufacturers with the confidence that every component meets original specifications and can be authenticated at any point in its lifecycle.
Read on to learn how traceability strengthens supply chain resilience by addressing counterfeit prevention, obsolescence management, and defect resolution.
Building Supply Chain Resilience Through Traceability
Semiconductor supply chains are among the most intricate in modern manufacturing, spanning multiple tiers of suppliers, distributors, and contract manufacturers. Without rigorous traceability mechanisms, the risks associated with counterfeit infiltration, supply chain disruptions, and quality failures increase exponentially.
By maintaining complete visibility into component provenance and handling, traceability enhances supply chain resilience in three areas:
Counterfeit Prevention
Obsolescence Management
Defect Resolution and Recalls
Counterfeit Prevention
The proliferation of counterfeit semiconductors poses a severe threat to supply chain integrity, especially in industries where performance failures can have catastrophic consequences. A 2011 report from the Semiconductor Industry Association estimated that counterfeits cost the global electronics industry over $75 billion annually, a figure that has likely grown as semiconductor demand has increased [6].
Counterfeit components often enter supply chains through unauthorized brokers, recycled parts, and deceptive relabeling practices. These components may suffer from electrical instability, latent defects, or outright failure, all of which directly endanger mission-critical systems. Traceability mitigates these risks by requiring distributors to maintain detailed chain-of-custody records that verify the authenticity of components at every stage of the supply chain.
Standards-Based Counterfeit Prevention
The SAE AS6496 standard provides a robust framework for counterfeit mitigation by mandating that authorized distributors document every transaction from the original manufacturer to the end user. Rochester Electronics adheres to AS6496 by seeing that all components in its inventory are sourced exclusively from authorized channels and are accompanied by Certificates of Conformance (C of Cs). This level of documentation prevents counterfeit infiltration while guaranteeing compliance with regulatory requirements [1].
Managing Component Obsolescence
One of the most pressing challenges in long-life industries is the disparity between semiconductor production cycles and the operational lifespan of the systems they support. Many semiconductor devices have a manufacturing lifecycle of only 3–7 years, while aerospace, defense, and industrial control systems may remain in operation for 25 years or more. This misalignment results in frequent obsolescence that forces manufacturers to secure long-term supply strategies [7].
When manufacturers struggle to source obsolete components, they often turn to unauthorized brokers. Without full traceability records, there is no guarantee that these components meet original electrical and mechanical specifications. Traceability aids in the obsolescence management struggle by providing manufacturers with access to reliable component inventories and enabling them to identify compatible replacements or locate End-of-Life (EOL) stock from authorized distributors.
Case Study: Industrial Automation
Consider, for example, a global industrial automation company that manufactures programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for factory automation. A widely used PLC model, first introduced in 2008, is still deployed in thousands of manufacturing plants worldwide. However, a needed microcontroller (MCU) used in the system was discontinued in 2016, leaving industrial customers with limited options for repairs and maintenance.
Without traceability, manufacturers might resort to sourcing replacement MCUs from the gray market, where authenticity and storage conditions cannot be verified. However, because this company utilizes a robust traceability system, it can track the original production history, environmental storage conditions, and chain of custody for authorized inventory.
By partnering with Rochester Electronics, the manufacturer can secure JEDEC JEP160-compliant inventory of the original microcontroller that is fully functional and meets original specifications. Now, industrial customers can extend the life of their PLCs without introducing reliability risks from counterfeit or substandard replacements.
Defect Resolution and Recalls
In the event of a defect or performance issue, traceability enables manufacturers to quickly isolate affected lots and minimize disruptions. Whether the issue stems from a materials defect, storage condition deviation, or process variation, traceability systems help manufacturers take targeted corrective actions.
For example, if a recall is issued for moisture-sensitive devices (MSDs), manufacturers must verify whether affected components were stored in compliance with J-STD-033 standards. Traceability data confirms whether the components were kept in moisture-barrier bags (MBBs) with desiccants and whether proper bake-out procedures were followed before assembly. By narrowing recalls to specific non-compliant lots, manufacturers can avoid unnecessary disruptions and protect their reputations.
The financial impact of component defects can also be significant. Without proper traceability, manufacturers may be forced to recall entire product lines rather than isolating specific affected lots. A robust traceability system reduces these costs by providing granular insights into which components were used in which assemblies, allowing for precise remediation efforts.
Traceability in Long-Life Industries
Industries with extended product lifecycles have unique demands that make semiconductor traceability indispensable.
Aerospace and Defense
Aircraft avionics, navigation systems, and flight control modules rely on semiconductors that must withstand extreme temperatures, radiation exposure, and mechanical stresses. Traceability requirements set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate comprehensive component documentation. Non-traceable components introduce unacceptable risks, as undetected counterfeit parts in critical flight systems could compromise aircraft safety.
Medical Devices
Medical devices, from pacemakers to insulin pumps, require flawless long-term performance. Regulatory frameworks like ISO 13485 emphasize traceability to ensure that every semiconductor component meets stringent quality control standards. Traceability also assists in recall management by allowing manufacturers to swiftly remove defective lots from circulation while protecting patient safety.
Automotive Electronics
The automotive sector’s shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs) has increased its reliance on high-performance semiconductors for battery management, sensor integration, and AI-driven control systems. Traceability ensures compliance with IATF 16949, the automotive quality management standard, while helping manufacturers detect and prevent counterfeit infiltration in mission-critical safety systems.
Industrial Control Systems
PLCs, motor drives, and automation sensors often operate for decades in industrial environments where they’re exposed to temperature extremes, vibrations, and electromagnetic interference. When maintenance cycles require component replacements, traceability reduces the risk of equipment failure and costly downtime by ensuring that only verified, compatible parts are used.
Supply Chain Resilience Through Traceability
As global supply chains become increasingly complex, semiconductor traceability is a matter of geopolitical and economic importance. By offering complete visibility into component authenticity, storage conditions, and handling history, traceability systems protect manufacturers from the risks of counterfeit infiltration, obsolescence, and quality failures.
Authorized distributors like Rochester Electronics provide a major advantage to long-life industries. By adhering to AS6496, maintaining long-term stored inventory, and offering fully traceable components, Rochester allows manufacturers to build safer, more efficient, and regulation-compliant supply chains.
In the next article in this series, we will examine how component storage and certification help maintain traceability.