You’re Auditing Us Like a Manufacturer: Rethinking How to Evaluate Distributors in the Fight Against Counterfeits

 Dane Reynolds [Astute Electronics Inc.]

Abstract: 

In today’s volatile and increasingly complex supply chain, the role of distributors has become more critical than ever in ensuring the authenticity and reliability of electronic components. Despite this, many organizations continue to audit distributors using the same frameworks and checklists designed for manufacturers, missing key opportunities to assess real risk and capability.

This presentation offers a distributor’s perspective on how customers can and should evaluate their distribution partners. Drawing from years of hands-on experience at a hybrid franchised/independent distributor certified to AS9120, AS6081, ISO/IEC 17025 (AS6171), and ANSI/ESD S20.20, we will outline the fundamental differences between manufacturing and distribution operations and explain why a one-size-fits-all audit approach fails to uncover meaningful insights.

Key topics will include:
• Common mistakes in distributor audits and how to avoid them.
• What an effective audit of a distributor should look like—from vendor vetting to risk-based testing and traceability controls.
• How to assess the practical implementation of counterfeit mitigation programs beyond certification alone.
• Tailored recommendations for OEMs, defense contractors, and auditors on how to better evaluate distributors and safeguard their supply chains.

Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the distributor’s role in counterfeit avoidance, actionable audit strategies, and a framework for developing more targeted, risk-informed supplier oversight practices.

Biography: 

The global semiconductor shortage has expanded the playing field for criminals, just as the world’s leader in counterfeit electronics databases, ERAI, reported an increase in the number of counterfeit components purchased by “desperate buyers”. For over a decade, Dane has made it his mission to help stamp out these counterfeits from the global electronics supply chain. Dane holds a degree in Industrial Engineering, is an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional, a Project Management Professional (PMP), and holds a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma. He regularly collaborates with electronics manufacturing professionals on the risks associated with counterfeit components, speaks at industry events (SMTA, ASQ, ARMA) and features in publications, mostly recently being quoted in the Wall Street Journal on the current risks faced during the semiconductor shortage. As Vice President of Operations at Astute Electronics, a leading global distributor of Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) devices, Dane is accountable for the quality of all material that passes through Astute’s AS6081 certified and AS6171 accredited anti-counterfeit inspection laboratories before going on to be utilized in high-reliability applications within the aerospace, defense, medical, and other critical sectors that cannot be compromised by substandard or counterfeit product.

Dr. Diganta Das

For more information or questions regarding the technical program (including Professional Development Courses), contact the Conference Chair, Dr. Diganta Das

Kristin Nafstad

For more information or questions regarding event logistics, exhibitions, and sponsorship, contact Kristin Nafstad.