Parts and alternates
Electronics pain almost always lands on material: tens of thousands of part numbers, high unit cost, short life, and a long alternate list on the same reference. One wrong reel on SMT is a batch rework or a field recall. We stand up the part master, reference-to-alternate map, and lot rules first. An alternate is not a spoken “this will do”—the system lists allowed substitutes, who may enable them, and actual issue writes into the lot. Customer-specified parts, environmental rules, and obsolete parts are stopped before issue, not after placement.
Serial trace
Inbound lots from the supplier, feeder and reel checks on load, in-process test, burn-in, and outgoing inspection hang on one serial. A customer complaint on a lot must, in minutes, circle which supplier lot was used, which work orders it hit, and which customers already received it. Miss a link and the quality meeting is only people remembering.
Slow movers and MSL
Electronic parts iterate fast; an ECO parks old stock on the shelf. The system lists slow movers from last-use, WIP hold, and alternate relationships; scrap, resale, or reuse needs approval before they leave the asset books. Otherwise finance sees a thick inventory and production is short of the new part every day. MSL, solder paste, and chip open-life also enter rules—not a warehouse veteran’s eye.
Stencils, fixtures, programs
Stencil, fixture, program version, and work order must match; scanning the wrong program on a changeover scraps a batch the same as loading the wrong reel. Customer-owned, VMI, and bonded stock, if in scope, have ownership and issue limits at kitting. ECO impact on WIP and stock is a to-do list by part, not a forwarded mail nobody owns.
One SMT line first
Go-live often starts on one SMT line and critical device lots—not a plant-wide video wall. Connect existing ERP part numbers and work orders; the shop floor adds load error-proofing and serial capture. Training is warehouse, loaders, and testers. An electronics plant system that works is not extra scans—it is every load, every substitute, and every board’s path with a record.