Supplement: Distribution
Making multi-year Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) with customers ensures that the purchasing team of an OEM or CEM can secure long-term component availability and cost. The LTAs cover an agreed price and a commitment for Charcroft to hold all of the inventory in the UK, which is needed for the duration of the agreement. This is a significant advantage for procurement, but also for design engineers as the agreements help to avoid the need to redesign when a component is withdrawn. The chance of component obsolescence is greater when the service life of the design is measured in decades rather than years.
Long-term traceability
Maintaining accurate component traceability is crucial for high-end and failure-free applications. Although these systems are designed to operate to the highest levels of reliability, the designer could be faced with a component failure during the lifetime of the system.
Looking back at the traceability of a failed component is a valuable stage in the process of identifying the reason for the failure. In the real world, many of the OEMS and CEMs may not hold the Certificate of Conformity or Certificate of Compliance (CofC) in long-term storage. This loss of traceability means that the designer cannot track the history of the failed component.
To overcome this potential loss of traceability, a secure archive is held by Charcroft with a digitised copy of every Certificate of Conformity and Certificate of Compliance (CofC) that has been received from the component manufacturer. The archive means that the designer can access the batch numbers and the manufacturing dates of each component that has been shipped. For legacy components, the ability to
Component availability reduces as reliability grade increases
check digital copies of datasheets going back to the 1970s can be vital in identifying the original component specification and recommending alternatives to replace obsolescent components.
In addition to being an active member of the International Institute of Obsolescence (IIOM), Charcroft takes a proactive approach to managing every aspect of obsolescence.
Strengthening links
A component manufacturer can gain greater commercial advantage by manufacturing high volumes of the latest components, compared to manufacturing legacy components which are being used in significantly lower volumes.
UK-based component customisation
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The ability to work closely with each franchised component manufacturer, and with the engineers at OEMs and CEMs, underpins the way in which a distributor can help to combine a low manufacturing volume with high technical support. This close liaison was responsible for customer designers being offered a solution when a manufacturer of circuit breakers withdrew components from being used in military applications. The obvious solution was to identify a direct drop-in alternative from another manufacturer, but there were no direct alternatives available for some of the circuit breakers. Detailed discussions with another franchised manufacturer enabled Charcroft to arrange for an existing circuit breaker to be adapted to match the specification of the withdrawn breaker. The adaptation included the ability to handle the same high current, and modified the standard 7/16” neck thread, to a M12 neck thread. In addition, the fixing of the circuit breaker was adapted to simplify the process of manufacturing the system. A tight working relationship with franchised manufacturers of specialist high-reliability components also supports the acceleration of prototypes for new designs with the provision of samples for the latest components. The ability to interrogate the systems of franchised component manufacturers means that the optimum availability and specification can be researched more deeply to meet
the specific needs of each of the customer engineering and procurement teams.
UK-based customisation To enable customer designers to access expertise in key areas of component reliability, a team of field-based technical development engineers shares specialist knowledge of passive, power, sensor and electromechanical components. The technical specialists are all based in the UK, and deliver answers to questions which can arise at any stage of a design. This level of technical support enables Charcroft to offer a viable alternative to using a Coordinated Parts Procurement Agency (CPPA) for space-related applications.
In addition to managing customised components from franchised manufacturers, the UK-based manufacturing of custom assemblies can provide innovative solutions. The assemblies are not subject to a minimum order quantity and can support new designs, or modify a new component to replace the Fit, Form, and Function (FFF) of an obsolete legacy component. There are many areas in which distribution can help design engineers meet the needs of SWaP and SWaP-C, but probably the most important criterion is the willingness to listen to each customer, and to think outside the box to develop new and individual solutions.
https://www.charcroft.com/ Components in Electronics September 2025 25
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