We are never surprised to get counterfeits from a long time independent stocking distributor. There is a certain type of distributor class whose main focus is buying excess inventory from OEM’s and CEM’s. They are great because they have a ton of inventory. Generally they do not get a lot of counterfeits on these large purchases of many line items so we believe that they have made the decision not to test for counterfeits. It is somewhat understandable, but in these times there is no excuse. Our supply chain is polluted and we all have to do extra work, even if you are typically not selling to the end user.
This lot of parts was blatantly obvious. The easiest tests revealed that they were blacktopped. You can see that the indent has blacktop in it without even touching the parts. Then a simple acetone scrub revealed a coating and sanding marks underneath.
Robb Hammond is the President of AERI and the former chair of the Aerospace Industry’s Counterfeit Electronic Components Mitigation Standard for independent distributors, AS6081, which has become one of the industry’s most respected documents, as well as being adopted by the Department of Defense. Robb is one of the foremost thought leaders in the industry on counterfeit detection and speaks regularly at conferences around the globe.
