Distributors Centralize
Compliance Data
Major distributors are stepping into a key role in green initiative compliance. Companies like Arrow Electronics and Future Electronics have recognized the leverage they hold in the compliance arena. By updating their vast databases with RoHS compliance data from parts makers, the distributors are in a position to provide their customers with effective compliance data in a very short time.
Large distributors handle hundreds of thousands of different part numbers from many different manufacturers. Manufacturers are keen to limit the time they spend answering compliance inquiries from their customers. If a manufacturer can upload parts compliance data to a few distributor databases, they can simply refer customer requests to the distributors. What will make this work effectively is well written software to automate the process.
Arrow Electronics offers a supply management tool called Arrow Risk Manager. This web-based service allows a subscriber to create projects and upload a Bill of Materials (BOM) or an Approved Manufacturer Part List (AMPL). You can have multiple projects and lists. You may also subscribe to notification services aimed at any project or list. Then you will receive email notices when a manufacturer announces any changes to parts on your lists. This is a painless way to stay informed of regulatory related changes in your supply chain.
One disappointment with Arrow Risk Manager is the difficulty of finding and viewing compliance information. None of the data views offer what I consider to be the most important columns. I want a column titled "RoHS Compliant" showing Yes or No, and another called "RoHS Compliant P/N" showing the manufacturer's compliant part number. Instead, Arrow buries this information inside a fact sheet. To read the sheet, you must click on an information link. This turns a potentially automated tool into a manual one. Now you must examine each part, one fact sheet at a time, to see if the part is compliant. Even worse, the fact sheets do not refer you to a compliant part number. You must start with a compliant part number to see that status confirmed on the fact sheet.
An alternative procedure is to do a parametric search and then a "Find similar" search. According to a Risk Manager help page, this allows you to display compliance data in a column, like I originally wanted. However, this feature is only available in Global Explorer and only for parametric searches. It still doesn't help if you already have a list of parts and just want to know if they are compliant.
I did speak with some people at Arrow about this issue. The good news is that a redesign effort is already underway to provide exactly the functionality I wanted. The bad news is that the job is still not done. It was expected late in December. Last I checked the new software has not been released. Still, if you deal with Arrow, talk to your sales rep about this. Their compliance data has the potential to save you a great deal of time.
In the rumor category, another distributor, Future Electronics, offers an unpublicized service that could also be highly valuable. If you supply an Approved Manufacturer Parts List (AMPL) or a BOM, Future will run it through software that will identify RoHS compliant parts. As long as you use common electronic components, you can expect a high percentage of alternate parts to show up from this service. According to rumor, Future is offering this service for free. If this is true, existing customers will probably get the best response, particularly large customers. Talk with your Future rep about this service. It could jump start your green compliance efforts.
With any such service, keep in mind that a compliant part number is only part of the solution. You only have the manufacturer's assertion that the part is indeed compliant. But what materials are actually in the part? Will it survive a 260 degree C reflow solder profile and function properly afterward? How can you prove to a European inspector that your product is compliant? There is much more to compliance than just a green part. Remember that as you walk along the green compliance path.
