EPP Panel Discussion - Obsolescence in Electronics Manufacturing

• Stefanie Kölbl: Member of the Executive Board of Component Obsolescence Group Germany (COGD) and Director of TQ Embedded
• Holger Krumme: Managing Director, HTV Alter Technology
• Frank Melerra: Head of Life Cycle Management and seminars at EICHLER
• Johannes Benjamin Schmidt: Head of Sales at btv technologies

Together, they painted a picture that makes clear: Those who obsolescence only deal reactively are gambling with the future viability of their company.

Stefanie Kölbl begins by explaining that the service life of many electronic components today is only six months to five years. This contrasts with systems that have to run for decades, such as those used in railways, aerospace and medical technology.

According to the Expert, the task of Obsolescence Management is to bridge the gap between component life and application life and to minimise the impact of discontinuations.

The issue is currently more pressing than ever. Manufacturers are strongly oriented towards short-lived consumer and server markets. Long-Lived industries are thus falling out of focus. This is precisely where the companies that are hardest hit by obsolescence are located.

Obsolescence not only leads to production downtime, but also to short-time purchases at high prices, risks due to unreliable sources of supply, and the tying up of valuable internal resources for the maintenance of old products. To counter these risks, companies rely on authenticity checks using methods such as ultrasound, microscopy or X-rays, as well as long-term storage. After discontinuation, components are stored under controlled conditions for ten to twenty years to protect them from ageing processes such as oxidation, diffusion effects and pollutants.

Frank Melerra brings a particularly practical perspective to the discussion. While other panel participants are largely involved at the component level, EICHLER works directly in production facilities.

A key problem here is that many companies rely too heavily on maintenance. The issue of obsolescence is often underestimated or "sidelined” for financial reasons.

Frank Melerra emphasises three points in particular:

• Firstly, companies must recognise that action is needed
• They need transparency: What is already obsolete? What will expire in the next few years? What quantities will still be needed until the planned end of a system's service life?
• On this basis, a supply strategy can be developed: with repairs, spare parts concepts, storage and partners who professionally test and repair assemblies

The word strategy plays a crucial role in the discussion. Holger Krumme distinguishes between three levels of dealing with obsolescence:

1. Strategic: Consider obsolescence early on in development - alternative assembly variants, approved secondary sources, avoidance of ‘exotic’ components.

    

2. Proactive: React early when discontinuation becomes apparent - project demand, plan last-time buys, prepare stock and repair concepts.

    

3. Reactive: The classic ‘firefall’ when an announcement comes as surprise and there is hardly any time to react.

Frank Melerra sums it up from the perspective of system operators: obsolescence cannot be avoided, but it can be managed, and that is precisely what needs to be done.

Digitalisation is a key topic of the talk. The experts agree: without the right tools, it is almost impossible to manage thousands of PCNs, EOL notifications and component lists.

Among other things, Stefanie Kölbl mentions:

• Life cycle data bases such as SiliconExpert, Arius, Z2Data
• internal ERP evaluations of lead times, prices and anomalies
• AI tools to automatically extract and evaluate unstructured documents (sometimes hundreds of pages long or available only as image files)

At the same time, the COGD is working with associations such as the ZVEI on Smart PCN, a standardised data format for discontinuation notifications and change notifications. The aim is to structure EOL and PCN information so that it can be automatically integrated into corporate processes, rather than remaining in spreadsheets, PDF files and email inboxes.

The circular economy begins in development

During the conversation, it also becomes clear that repairability is a crucial component. Frank Melerra describes how important it is to design components and assemblies in such a way that they remain repairable and testable.

Stefanie Kölbl adds that although increasingly smaller designs are technically attractive, they often pose a problem when it comes to repairs. In some cases, a repair can fail due to a tiny, low-cost component, meaning that entire assemblies have to be scrapped.

This is where the link to the circular economy comes in: longer service life, repair instead of replacement, and reuse of components are key levers, provided that these aspects are already taken into account in the development phase.

The panel discussion makes clear, that obsolescence is no longer a niche topic, but rather a cross-sectional task spanning development, procurement, production, maintenance and management.

Early strategy, cross-departmental cooperation and the consistent use of digital tools are crucial. Artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role in this - not as a panacea, but as a support for forward-looking Obsolescence Management.