As a fast-moving sector engaged in a strategy of continuous optimisation of design and manufacture, the electronics sector continually faces the prospect of older components and subsystems being obsoleted by newer products and removed from the supply chain.

The replacements offered by suppliers may demonstrate similar capabilities, but the change will often need requalification in markets with demands for high reliability, safety and performance, such as military and aerospace. This process may be further complicated by changes in packaging or features that require a change in design. In the worst case, there is no replacement, demanding a larger change in design followed by requalification.

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