Our military, government, and commercial customers count on SEA Wire and Cable, Inc. products to work every time. Whether it is a satellite, airplane, weapon system or security system, our customers trust that our products will achieve their mission. The inclusion of sub-standard and unreliable parts in the SEA supply chain presents a serious threat to our goal of producing mission-critical hardware for the warfighter to rely on. One cause of sub-standard and unreliable parts is counterfeit components. Industry reports have increased over the past several years of counterfeit electronic parts infiltrating the aerospace and defense supply chain.
Counterfeiting is a business, and it is growing at a rapid pace. Counterfeit business is estimated to be $225 billion and more than 750,000 jobs worldwide. Consumer Electronics constituted more than 8% of the $196 million seized by US customs. US companies suffer $9 billion in trade losses due to international copyright piracy. It is difficult to get firm statistics on how widespread counterfeiting is because often it is not reported. Items are often returned through the supply chain for refund or replacement or simply disposed of instead of being investigated.
SEA Wire and Cable, Inc requires its suppliers to take steps to eliminate the risk of introducing both counterfeit electronic parts as well as non-electronic parts and materials. We define Counterfeit Work as items that are or contain unlawful or unauthorized reproductions, substitutions or alterations that have been knowingly mismarked, misidentified or otherwise misrepresented to be an authentic, unmodified part from the original manufacturer or a source with the express written authority of the original manufacturer or the current design activity, including an authorized aftermarket manufacturer. Unlawful or unauthorized substitution includes used items represented as new or the false identification of grade, serial number, lot number and date code or performance characteristics.
Industry reports the most common type of counterfeit electronic parts are used, but then modified under uncontrolled conditions and made to appear new. The longevity of aerospace and defense products often exceed the life cycle of commercially available parts. The aerospace and defense industry is particularly vulnerable to this type of counterfeiting scenario. Needed parts may be out of production and no longer available directly from the manufacturers.
With an increasingly complex supply chain, extra diligence must be given to identification, tracking, inspection, and management of parts throughout the supply chain to ensure the authenticity of critical parts and materials is not compromised. SEA Wire and Cable, Inc, depends on our supply base, to be partners with us in our efforts to combat counterfeit part infiltration into our products. Suppliers must have robust counterfeit part control plans that meet and or exceed industry and any applicable government standards.