The DLA has been taking a lot of heat from much of the industry about the new DNA marking requirements for the 5962 series of electronic components. They have had so much pressure that they have come out with a facts page to address all of the concerns (see here) . The complaints vary from being cost prohibitive to, why did they choose a single source for the technology? Our biggest complaint, as an independent electronic components distributor, remains, how are we going to utilize this great technology once the parts are in the open market and the manufacturers do not cooperate with independents anyway? How will we be able to verify the product using DNA? It is not in the original manufacturers best interest to help us sell parts that they have already sold once before. And there is relatively no risk buying parts from the authorized market, which is the only place that this will be effective at the moment.
Robb Hammond is the founder and CEO of AERI, an independent electronic component distributor operating since 1994. He is a founding member and former committee chair of SAE AS6081, the counterfeit-avoidance standard for independent distributors adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense, and a recognized authority on counterfeit detection.
