Are Expensive Parts More Important than Low-Cost Partsin an Assembly?

Eric Baker – EasySpheres

When posed with this question, your first instinct may be to respond yes because you paid more for it and, therefore, it must be more integral to the assembly you’re building. But that is not necessarily true. When you think about it, any component that affects a customer is important, regardless of the cost. An expensive part may appear to have a high value to the customer. Conversely an inexpensive part may not necessarily have a low value to the customer. Value cannot always be associated with price, but it certainly can be measured in the stress level the manufacturing team will experience if not available!

This brings us to why a $0.02 part is as important as a $1,000 part – if anything about the orderedpart (be it price, availability, quality, etc.) affects the customer positively or negatively, then it does not matter what the price tag happens to be.

The smallest, least-expensive item can bring an entire production line to a halt if it is not available when needed. This is when value comes into play: that $.02part not being available when needed makes the $1,000 part moot because the assembly cannot move forward until the inexpensive part is in place. So the value of the small part isjust as important as any of the other parts because without itthe assembly cannot be built.

There are numerous reasons common parts may not be available on demand, including inventory managementchallenges, quality issues, and supply chain disruptions. These cause major issues downstream and result in delayed deliveries to your customers who don’t care that the issue is based on a missing low-cost part. They only know that your company could not come through.

EasySpheres, a worldwide provider of high–quality first run solder balls, understands this supply and demand dynamic and has a proven solution. The company maintains a large inventory of solder sphere alloys and sizes, and specializes in the fulfillment of small, medium and large orders while guaranteeing ample inventory depth and quick delivery. This is accomplished in the precise way in which EasySpheres manages its inventory, shipping all orders within 24 hours, and making the ordering process as easy and efficient as possible.Working with a company like EasySpheres reduces the likelihood of delays in building assemblies.

While solder balls may not be considered an expensive item, they absolutely are necessary in electronics manufacturing. Without them, the production line – and the build – stops. “We understand that solder spheres may not be seen as a major piece for a complex assembly; however, we know from firsthand experience that they are a needed part,” added EasySpheres President Eric Baker. “They provide significant value to our customers. Because of that, we make it simple for customers to order what they need and deliver to them quickly in order to prevent delays on their end.”

“We value our customers immensely,” stated Baker. “We strive to always have enough high–quality, matched lot code inventory to meet our customers’ immediate demand. In response to concerns regarding regional disruptions in supply, EasySpheres has adjusted its factored safety stock to mitigate any possible supply shortages for our customers. We endeavor to maintain a robust and broad inventory of solder sphere alloy and sizes. It is our stated goal to ship all orders complete on the same day the order is received. Our analysis shows that we have met this goal with a more than97.85 percent rate of success.”

The concept of EasySpheres is that many end user applications for solder spheres require smaller lot size quantities than most sphere manufacturers are willing to provide. EasySpheres combines this concept with guaranteed immediate delivery, an easy Internet ordering approach, and a broad range of stock on the most popular alloys and sizes. EasySpheres provides world-class suppliers to deliver customers with production quality, first run solder spheres at any quantities and excellent prices.

The company offers leaded, lead-free, copper core and tape-and-reel spheres that are available in many solder alloys, including eutectic tin/lead and high lead, typical for ceramic BGA packages. It also offers many of the industry–demanded lead-free solder alloys, including the new low silver alloy formulas. A range of sphere diameters for BGA and CSP ball attach applications is available from 0.002 to 0.035″.

EasySpheres has served the aerospace, consumer, EMS, medical, semiconductor, BGA rework manufacturing markets for almost two decades.

Having worked in these high-tech industries for so long has provided EasySpheres with the experience to differentiate between cost and value. Baker concludes, “The $1,000+ part has no value at all unless the $0.02part is available and delivered on time, and is able to serve the purpose it was designed to fulfill. An inexpensive part’s value can never be solely based on price, but rather on its role in fulfilling the completedprocess. If it’s not available when needed, the build won’t be accomplished on time and the company building it will not succeed.”

For more information about EasySpheres, contact Eric Baker, President, at 12012 SW Powell Butte Hwy, Powell Butte, OR 97753; 858-486-4068; E-mail: feedback@easyspheres.com; Web site: www: easyspheres.com.