The role of obsolescence management in electronics manufacturing

When you are designing a new electronic product, the last thing on your mind may be your new product becoming obsolete or ineffective. In reality, shifts in technology and product design trends can cause changes in components and assembly practices which can cause some electronic designs to become obsolete. To avoid this negatively affecting your business, obsolescence management is essential.

What is obsolescence management?

Obsolescence management is an essential stage of electronics design and manufacturing as it analyses all the components used to create a product, and creates a management plan for how to replace the components of a product before they become obsolete. Obsolescence management also involves determining the lifespan of individual components and creates a plan of action for replacing them before they become redundant and begin to have a negative effect on a product or system.

Why is obsolescence management important?

Without effective obsolescence management, certain components may begin to wear and age without the owner realising. The product will begin to become ineffective, eventually creating a negative option of the product and the company that sold it. Obsolescence management looks to replace components with a short lifespan for better quality, cost-effective alternatives, if an alternative cannot be found, they can guarantee replacement services for consumers after a specified period of time.

Obsolescence management for existing PCB assemblies

Obsolescence management services are not only available for new electronic designs, but existing products, such as PCB assembly boards can also benefit from obsolescence services. For example, if you have an assembly board with design flaws or your assembly board is created with products that have been recalled or discontinued, obsolescence management services can help to find and fix the flaw and find an effective replacement solution for discontinued components. If you’re looking to upgrade a PCB assembly board, obsolescence management can be a great place to start.

Contact Hetech today

At Hetech, we are your electronics design and manufacturing partner. Our expertise in electronics design and manufacturing allows us to deliver high-quality obsolescence management services. For more information about obsolescence management or PCB design, contact us today!