What is traceability from Electronics Manufacturing stand point?

Traceability for an Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company is very essential not only for internal tracking and data analysis but also for customer relationships. Sparrow ERP generates serial and lot numbers based on the type and packaging of the component. The same is done for a finished board at the end of the assembly process. The serialization of each item that comes into Inventory via procurement or production helps the system to trace its life cycle during storage and production. Here are some of the areas where traceability features of Sparrow ERP help EMS companies.

Minimize the size of product recall

Product recalls can be costly, especially when you are dealing in large quantities. Without effective traceability and serialization, it is possible that you have to recall the entire shipment for inspection and repair. However, with an effective serialization backed by traceability and only a small portion of the entire shipment is possible to recall which saves a huge amount of time and cost.

Dispute resolution with organized data

The dispute can arise due to multiple reasons; It can happen over the production process or components used. In each scenario if you have traceability data then it helps to solve a dispute with the customer and hugely impacts the relationship with a customer in a positive manner.

Manage compliance

To comply with legal requirements like lead-free production, it is very essential to collect and retain production activity data.

Component usage & tracking

An effective traceability system such as in Sparrow ERP tracks movement of every component like, how it was purchased, stored and used with internal document numbers like Purchase orders and Manufacturing orders. It also links the individual components on finished boards. This gives an incredible amount of data for traceability.

Tracking SMD & SMT placement

Bill of Material (BoM) contains useful information about the type of component. By tracking each component we can essentially track each SMT and SMT placement. Further, by collecting information like which equipment is used under what circumstances it enhances the usability of data.

Track repair & rework

Sparrow ERP tracks each operation in Manufacturing order while it was in Rework or Repair state. Operator name, equipment used, components consumed (with their serial or lot number) is recorded. This data is linked with the finished board and easily retrieved via a traceability report.