Price remains an important part of electronic component sourcing. If two suitable parts are available from dependable suppliers, the lower price may be the sensible choice. But the unit price tells only part of the story. A component must also be available when it is needed, meet the required standards and continue to support the product throughout its intended life.
Obsolete Components Blog: posts from September 2026
ERAI’s 2025 Annual Report provides valuable insight into the continuing problem of counterfeit and nonconforming electronic components. Although the total number of parts reported fell during the year, the findings show that counterfeit components remain a significant global supply chain risk. ERAI received reports concerning 748 parts in 2025, a decrease of 29.1% compared with 2024. However, the previous year’s total included a single batch of 248 parts reported by the US Government. When this exceptional batch is excluded, the year-on-year reduction was only 7.4%.
An excess stock valuation project for a UK original equipment manufacturer (OEM) involved some striking figures:
- 5,775,157 electronic components
- More than 600 different manufacturer part numbers
- Millions of items requiring identification, verification and valuation
The OEM could have managed the project internally. Many businesses attempt to do exactly that. However, once the time required to identify, count, verify, value and document millions of components is considered, this approach rarely makes commercial sense.