Every distributor must be careful that they are not exporting to customers like the one described in this story. There are procedures that can be put in place to investigate potential customers before selling to them which includes obtaining a statement from each customer requesting the products end use. This document should contain the consequences of the actions described in this story as well. You may contact Ian Cosley, at our California facility, if you would like to see AERI’s procedure and try to implement a new program in your firm. See the above link for the full story about this FBI takedown.
Robb Hammond, founder and president of AERI (American Electronic Resource, Inc.). Founding member and former committee chair of the SAE AS6081 Standard created for the avoidance of counterfeit electronic components. Robb founded AERI in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994 as an independent distributor of hard-to-find, obsolete and allocated electronic components. AERI is AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015 and AS6081 certified, tests to AS6171 standards, and inspects every part in its in-house QC lab before it ships. Robb writes about electronic component shortages, sourcing strategy and counterfeit avoidance.
