Introduction
In electronic system design, a single missing microchip can halt the production of a multi-million dollar satellite or a high-volume automotive line. Component Selection is the process of choosing the active and passive electronic parts—from resistors to complex SoCs (System on Chip)—that will populate a printed circuit board (PCB).
Within a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) strategy, electronic component selection has evolved from a simple technical choice to a high-stakes balancing act. It requires real-time synchronization between engineering (who needs performance), procurement (who needs availability), and lifecycle management (who needs longevity).
The 3 Pillars of Strategic Electronic Selection
1. Technical Fit and Performance
The primary driver: Does the component meet the functional requirements?
- Parameters: Voltage levels, power consumption, thermal limits, signal integrity, and footprint size.
- Impact: Choosing a component with too much overhead increases cost; choosing one with too little risks system failure.
2. Supply Chain Resilience and Lead Times
A perfect technical component is a liability if it has a 52-week lead time.
- Multi-Sourcing: Selecting components that have “Pin-to-Pin” compatible alternatives from other manufacturers to avoid production stops.
- Geopolitical Risk: Assessing where the component is fabricated to avoid trade-related disruptions.
3. Lifecycle Status and Obsolescence
Electronics evolve faster than any other domain.
- NRND (Not Recommended for New Design): Avoiding parts that are nearing the end of their production life.
- EOL (End of Life): Monitoring for “Last Time Buy” notices to prevent your product from becoming unmanufacturable overnight.
The Electronic BoM (eBoM) in the PLM Workflow
The PLM system acts as the “Command Center” for the Electronic Bill of Materials:
| Stage | Integration Action |
| Design | Integrating ECAD tools (Altium, Cadence) with the PLM to ensure engineers use “Approved Parts.” |
| Verification | Linking component data sheets to functional requirements for automated checking. |
| Sourcing | Real-time price and stock monitoring via API integrations with distributors (Mouser, Digi-Key). |
| Quality | Tracking failure rates and “Field Returns” back to specific component batches or vendors. |
Managing the “Silicon Risk”
The recent global chip shortage taught the industry that transparency is survival. Managing electronic components in PLM allows for:
- Early Warning Systems: Being alerted the moment a supplier marks a component for obsolescence.
- What-if Analysis: If a specific MCU becomes unavailable, the PLM can show every product in the company’s portfolio that is affected.
How Visure Solutions Powers Electronic Selection
Visure Requirements ALM Platform provides the governance needed to manage the volatile world of electronic components:
- Requirement-to-Component Mapping: Link specific electronic requirements (e.g., “The system must operate at -40°C”) to the component’s temperature rating. Visure can flag if a selected part doesn’t meet the environmental requirement.
- Obsolescence Management Workflow: When a component is marked as EOL, Visure can trigger an automated workflow to notify engineering and procurement to start the “Redesign” or “Last Time Buy” process.
- Compliance Traceability: Automatically track if components meet RoHS, REACH, or Conflict Minerals requirements, generating the necessary reports for regulatory bodies.
- Collaborative Decision Making: Allow procurement and engineering to vote on and approve “Preferred Parts List” (PPL) within a single, audited environment.
Conclusion
In electronic design, the “cheapest” component often ends up being the most expensive if it leads to a redesign six months later. Component Selection within a PLM framework is about building a product that is not only brilliant in its function but also resilient in its existence.
By using Visure to manage the requirements and lifecycle of electronic components, organizations can innovate with confidence. You ensure that your electronic systems are built on a foundation of parts that are technically sound, ethically sourced, and—crucially—available when you need to build.
Check out the 14-day free trial at Visure and experience how AI-driven change control can help you manage changes faster, safer, and with full audit readiness.
