How Reliable Is Your Electronic Parts Data?

Accurate component data is the lifeblood of successful projects. Yet, many engineers and procurement professionals grapple with unreliable or outdated information in their Bills of Materials (BOMs). This poor data quality can lead to a cascade of problems throughout a product’s lifecycle, affecting everything from design integrity to production efficiency, costs, and final product quality.

Let’s take a look at how poor data quality can wreak havoc on electronic device design and procurement teams. Then, we'll examine some of the latest strategies and technology for securing consistently accurate, reliable, and high-quality parts data in your BOMs.

Poor Quality Parts Data Creates Instability

When part numbers or specifications aren’t accurate, you risk ordering out-of-stock or discontinued components. This can lead to production delays and last-minute design changes that throw carefully planned schedules off track. For example, a redesigned smartphone calls for a specific microprocessor. If the design's BOM includes outdated component information, the manufacturer cannot react quickly if the original microprocessor becomes unavailable. This issue could potentially compromise the phone’s performance or delay its release.

In today's competitive environment, such delays can be costly to a company’s bottom line and brand reputation. Consider a scenario where an automotive electronics supplier is developing a new advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS). If the lead times for critical sensors are underestimated due to inaccurate BOM data, the entire production line for a new vehicle could be held up, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

A Ripple Effect of Design and Quality Issues

Inaccurate component specifications in your BOM can lead to suboptimal circuit performance or complete design failure. This is particularly problematic where performance and safety are potentially life-or-death parameters, such as in aerospace and medical applications. 

One incorrect component can compromise the integrity of an entire system. In some cases, companies may need to scrap entire production runs and absorb big financial losses. In addition, inaccurate or out-of-date environmental or regulatory compliance data can result in product recalls or legal issues.

Unpredictable Budgets and Scheduling Conflicts

Outdated or incorrect pricing or lead time data can skew budgets and timelines for new products. In industries with tight profit margins, small discrepancies can make the difference between profit and loss. Discovering component inaccuracies late in the design process often necessitates a redesign. These last-minute changes can crush project budgets and schedules, delaying time-to-market and potentially missing critical market windows.

Trouble on the Factory Floor

BOMs with inaccurate data can create incorrect footprints or pinout information. This can cause big trouble on the production floor, such as manufacturing defects and assembly line stoppages that slow production and increase the risk of sending faulty products to customers. For example, an electronics contract manufacturer once used incorrect footprint data for a microcontroller, and thousands of circuit boards were incorrectly assembled. The error was only caught in final testing and resulted in scrapped boards, wasted components, and significant production delays.

Ordering the wrong components based on bad data also causes inventory discrepancies and potential part shortages. This can create a domino effect of delays, rushed order fulfillment, and increased costs. 

Ensure Data Reliability with Altium 365 BOM Portal

To address the challenges of unreliable electronic parts data, Altium has developed an advanced tool called Altium 365 BOM Portal. This application is part of the Altium 365 suite, an agile cloud-based platform that integrates all aspects of electronics development. BOM Portal offers powerful capabilities that help electronics companies maintain accurate and reliable parts data to deliver better products faster. These capabilities include:

1. Centralized Data Management: BOM Portal provides a single source of truth for component data across an organization. It integrates with engineering tools, procurement systems, and supplier databases.
2. Real-Time Supply Chain Updates: Leveraging comprehensive manufacturer part and supplier data resources, BOM Portal provides live, detailed parts availability and qualitatively rated alternative part suggestions.
3. Automated Data Verification: BOM Portal automatically checks and updates component information, including lifecycle status, compliance data, and pricing. This provides engineers and procurement teams with consistently up-to-date information.
4. Collaborative Environment: BOM Portal facilitates seamless collaboration between engineering and procurement teams right from the start. This helps speed up product releases without compromising on quality or cost. 
5. Risk Mitigation: To minimize risk and avoid disruptions, BOM Portal proactively tracks and provides warnings for supply chain issues such as components with extended lead times, insufficient stock, or impending obsolescence.
6. Compliance Tracking: BOM Portal identifies components that are compliant with REACH and RoHS industry standards to help designers meet regulatory requirements.
7. Cost Optimization: Detailed pricing information and custom supplier prices enable smart, cost-effective decisions on components. 
8. Library Management: Edit or create new components from BOM items using the built-in component library.

Advanced BOM Management for Consistently Reliable Data

For companies striving to be market leaders, the reliability of the electronic parts data in their BOMs is nothing short of critical. Companies that master this challenge are better positioned to continue innovating while keeping costs down and product quality up. In an industry that depends on precision, accurate component data is the foundation of success.

One of BOM Portal key strengths is integrating supply chain data directly into your BOM. When a BOM is opened, the portal automatically pulls inventory and pricing data for each line item using data from Octopart and IHS Markit. BOM Portal takes this a step further with the option to subscribe to enhanced data from Z2Data or SiliconExpert, offering powerful tools for component intelligence. For example, the integration of Z2Data allows users to validate RoHS and REACH compliance and assess lifecycle status directly within BOM Portal. 

The portal also identifies alternate part suggestions to help users easily find suitable replacements when needed. Users can also create carts on distributor websites directly from BOM Portal. These combined capabilities make BOM Portal a powerful tool for enhancing data quality, increasing design efficiency, and improving procurement workflows.

As new technologies and components continue to be introduced at a frenzied pace, the importance of reliable parts data will only grow. Your company can remain highly competitive and agile by investing in robust data management practices and leveraging advanced tools like Altium 365 BOM Portal.