AI enters the anticounterfeit battle zone
As a technology journalist I’ve been tracking artificial intelligence for years. I committed to working with it about two years ago and remain staggered by its capabilities on a weekly basis. Recently I’ve started seeing AI creep into anticounterfeiting discussions and could immediately see its potential on a short, medium and long term basis. Traditional anticounterfeiting measures such as manual visual inspection, verified supplier lists and time consuming testing protocols set the current pace of activities. Now enter AI. Short term I anticipate AI enabled computer vision systems capable of analysing thousands of images every second, detecting microscopic discrepancies in…
Are we at peak obsolescence?
I love playing mind games and decided to pose myself the question are we at peak obsolescence? I’m trying to work out if there is a tipping point where the average component life cycle overlaps average product lifecycle, driving the average price of the average product ever upwards to accommodate immediate and endless redesigns. As we nudge closer to that point, innovation will undoubtedly kick in. People will spot the vacuum and start designing new technologies and business models that overcome the problem. Until we reach that point, purchasing professionals must stay vigilant and realise obsolescence isn’t simply an inconvenience,…
Oxford’s calling: don’t miss this design and buying bonanza
Starting page 27 of June’s issue, readers of Electronics Sourcing have access to the first of three previews of MMG Publishing’s Electronic Component Show (ECS), taking place 18 September 2024 at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford. This 23-page section starts to provide an insight into the range of technologies, products and services that engineers and buyers attending the event can expect to experience. At the time of writing most stands are sold, meaning visitors will have the opportunity to discuss their design and purchasing needs with 65 exhibitors. Visitors can also attend seminar presentations which will be announced in next month’s…
SWOT a year
This time every year I finish reading Electronics Sourcing North America’s ECIA TOP 50 Americas Authorized Distributors Report and wonder two things to myself. Firstly, how closely does the report match my own experience and expectations? Secondly—mostly for fun—I wonder what the following year’s big news will be? I can safely say, 12 months ago, a reset of global tariffs was not on my list of options. If I run an appraisal of past years in the form of a quick SWOT analysis, the list of threats that came to fruition is truly mind blowing. It includes the dot.com bubble,…
SWOT a year
This time every year I finish reading the ECIA TOP 50 Americas Authorized Distributors Report and wonder two things to myself. Firstly, how closely does the report match my own experience and expectations? Secondly—mostly for fun—I wonder what the following year’s big news will be? I can safely say, 12 months ago, a reset of global tariffs was not on my list of options. If I run an appraisal of past years in the form of a quick SWOT analysis, the list of threats that came to fruition is truly mind blowing. It includes the dot.com bubble, global financial…
Blink and 20 years of monumental change flies by
As Electronics Sourcing celebrates 20 years of publishing, I’m having a trip down memory lane, reflecting on how the electronic component distribution industry has evolved and indulging in a little future gazing to boot. Two decades ago, component distribution was often a transactional, ‘feature and price’ business. I visited plenty of distributors comprising little more than a bank of telephones taking orders, boxes of components and a dispatch room. By comparison, today’s distributors are a critical element of a global supply chain, providing components, technical expertise, design support, logistics solutions, inventory management and more. The past 20 years have brought…
