Front End | Electronic Components Supply Network
Industry associations – A 300-year-old model continues to thrive
A well run, active industry association brings together skilled individuals and organisations to share their knowledge with their peers and provide a single authoritative voice with which to communicate with government, NGOs, legislators and the media. Among a myriad of other industry related activities, many also assist with members’ education and professional attainments. In this article Adam Fletcher, chairman of the Electronic Components Supply Network (ecsn), argues that even with the proliferation of (mis)information via social media and the internet, the value proposition offered by industry associations today is quite possibly at an all-time high
T
he Association of Franchised Distributors of Electronic Components (afdec) was founded in 1970 by the leaders of the
primarily UK-based electronic components sales, marketing and manufacturing companies that supported the ‘vertically integrated’, almost entirely self-contained manufacturers of electronic equipment that comprised the UK customer base. Many were already members of associations such as the IEE (now the IET), NMI (now TechWorks), FEI (then Intellect and now techUK) et. al, that were also striving for a collective understanding of the wildly fluctuating demand and supply cycles that frequently triggered component lead- time of up to twenty-six weeks. In 1986 afdec became a founder member of the International Distribution of Electronics Association (IDEA), another not-for- profit, member managed organisation established to enable electronic components industry associations globally to compile meaningful local and international statistics and influence proposed legislation impacting European electronic components markets. afdec was restructured as the Electronic Components Supply Network (ecsn) in 2009.
Communications in the early days Intercompany communication in the ‘70s was often dictated by the time it took to exchange first class letters. The phone was used but protracted calls - especially international ones - were expensive and still needed to be confirmed in writing. Telex machines were available but due to their cost and labour overhead were really only owned and used by large corporations. The introduction of fax technology was a step forward but unlike letter or telexe, fax messages were not initially
10 November 2021
considered to be legal documents. Harvesting intelligence on new technologies, products and materials entailed spending many hours trawling through trade magazines and directories, copying contact information by hand onto paper.
In contrast, the device you carry in your pocket today provides almost instant communication with others anywhere in the world, together with rapid access to unbelievable amounts of information. Communication speed today is lightning-fast and failure to establish contact with a customer, colleague, friends or your ‘significant other’, within a few minutes is likely to be a cause for criticism or concern. Access to vast quantities of public domain information does however bring its own problems: It’s surprisingly difficult to find the critical piece of information you need from the mass of data available.
Internet and social networks Thanks to digital communications changes in the electronic components market that used to take months now happens in a matter of weeks or even days. The proliferation of social networking enables like-minded individuals to access almost unlimited collective knowledge, but many have become complacent and fallen foul of malicious misinformation put out by unscrupulous organisations. No surprise then those legitimate commercial organisations worry over proprietary data being shared over social networks and about the amount of time their employees spend doing it. Many are restricting data access to nominated individuals and only within business hours, but acknowledge that they have little control over employee actions outside the working environment. Conversely, some organisations employ people to disseminate information or knowledge over a range of social networks as their primary job function, but tightly control
Components in Electronics
the methodology to strictly limit availability of commercially sensitive information.
Legislation in electronic components markets
The last few decades have seen a massive increase in legislation impacting the electronic components industry (RoHS, REACH, EUP, Conflict Minerals, etc.). Given current environmental concerns this trend is unlikely to diminish. Although suppliers of electronic components were never the principal target of such legislation, we are affected by it as downstream users of the end-equipment our customers produce. Whilst many ecsn members may be headquartered in the UK, they may also operate internationally and be members of industry associations active in the geographic territories in which they operate. International effectiveness of an industry association is typified by collectively interpreting legislative changes and advising the industry and the wider community on the necessary steps for compliance, which often subtly varies between countries and regions (some of whom view legislation as an anticompetitive activity). Ecsn, IDEA and similar industry bodies are today providing an influential and credible single authoritative industry opinion to governments and their advisors on the direct impact, side effects and additional cost burdens of their proposals, helping to make future legislation more effective, relevant and timely as well as lowering the cost of universal compliance.
The future
A 300-year-old business model continues to provide competitive advantage for national and international members in the electronic components supply network but is today using 21st century technology to do so. Industry associations are harnessing social networking and the web in a controlled and responsible
www.cieonline.co.uk
manner to extend and enhance knowledge sharing and communications between members, and provide an authoritative “single voice” with which to bring issues of wider concern to public view via the trade media and industry events. Industry associations such as ecsn (and IDEA) are striving to maximise the support they provide to members, suppliers and customers as our industry continues to collaboratively work through current and emerging challenges. Market demand forecasting for instance – we’ve all been found wanting here – is but one such issue contributing to many of the current supply problems. Please encourage your organisation to be part of our industry’s continuing success by participating and contributing to the collaboration process. It will add little to the overhead but the improvements in your competitive advantage could be immense.
For information
Adam Fletcher is chairman of the Electronic Components Supply Network (ecsn), a business association established in 1970 that today offers support to all organisations with an interest in electronic components throughout their entire lifecycle. He is also chairman of the International Distribution of Electronics Association (IDEA), an association of individual country electronic components associations whose objective is to arrive at and share best industry practice.
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