Obsolete-component sourcing is a risk decision, not simply a part search. Start with the exact requirement, confirm the lifecycle status, and scale evidence and inspection to the application risk and source route.
1. Confirm the requirement before searching
- Freeze the exact manufacturer part number, revision, grade, package, and programming state.
- Verify lifecycle status with the manufacturer or an authoritative product-change notice where available.
- Ask engineering whether a form-fit-function alternate, redesign, or last-time buy is possible.
- Document required quantity, consumption horizon, delivery window, and the cost of a line stop or field failure.
2. Classify the source route
Record whether the offer comes from the original manufacturer, an authorized channel, a traceable surplus route, or an independent source. The route changes the evidence available and the verification work required; it should never be hidden behind a generic availability statement.
The US Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement describes controls for traceability, supplier selection, inspection, testing, and reporting in counterfeit-part avoidance systems. Even when a contract is outside DFARS, the control categories provide a useful risk-review framework. See DFARS 252.246-7007 ↗.
3. Define evidence before accepting the offer
- Supplier identity and stated source route.
- Manufacturer, MPN, quantity, lot and date codes, country of origin, and packaging condition.
- Certificate of conformance and available chain-of-custody records.
- Photographs of labels, reels, trays, tubes, seals, and representative devices.
- Test scope, laboratory identity, sample size, acceptance criteria, and handling of failures.
- Commercial recourse if received material does not match the agreed evidence or acceptance criteria.
4. Match inspection to risk
A visual check alone cannot establish authenticity. Build an inspection and test plan from the application, obsolescence level, source route, quantity, available reference data, and consequences of failure. Quarantine material until the agreed review is complete, and keep photographs, measurements, test results, and disposition records tied to the received lot.
JPL’s current supplier quality clause says suppliers should notify JPL when parts are not obtained from an authorized source and describes traceability and counterfeit-part precautions. Review the exact clause only when it applies to your contract: JPL QC136b ↗.
5. Keep an auditable decision record
Save the approved requirement, offers compared, source-route disclosure, risk assessment, evidence received, inspection results, deviations, and final disposition. If a substitution is accepted, capture the engineering approval and the exact scope of that approval.