Distributor Realities#

Understanding the electronics distribution ecosystem is a practical skill that most engineering curricula never teach. Where components are purchased matters — it affects pricing, lead time, authenticity, and the ability to get technical support when something goes wrong. The distribution landscape ranges from major authorized distributors with millions of parts in stock to gray-market brokers selling pulls from used boards. Navigating this landscape effectively saves money, reduces risk, and keeps projects on schedule.

Authorized vs Unauthorized Distributors#

The most fundamental distinction in component distribution is authorization. An authorized distributor has a direct relationship with the component manufacturer — they buy directly from the factory, handle the parts according to the manufacturer’s quality requirements, and can provide full traceability from production to the bench.

Authorized distributors offer:

• Guaranteed genuine parts, directly from the manufacturer’s production line
• Full manufacturer warranty coverage
• Access to technical support through the distributor’s field application engineers
• Product Change Notifications forwarded from the manufacturer
• Proper handling, storage, and moisture sensitivity management
• Traceability through lot codes and date codes

Unauthorized distributors and brokers operate outside the manufacturer’s distribution channel. They source parts from excess inventory, cancelled orders, liquidated stock, or other non-standard channels. Some are reputable and provide legitimate parts. Others are the primary channel through which counterfeit components enter the supply chain.

For new designs and production, always use authorized distributors. The cost difference is usually small (authorized distributors are competitive on pricing), and the risk reduction is enormous. A single counterfeit IC in a production run can cause field failures, recalls, and liability that dwarfs any cost savings.

The exception: obsolete parts that are no longer available through authorized channels. In this case, brokers may be the only source. When using a broker, require certificates of conformance, lot traceability, and consider independent testing (X-ray inspection, decapsulation, electrical testing) for critical components.

Major Distributor Landscape#

The major global authorized distributors each have different strengths:

Digi-Key has the widest catalog and is the go-to for prototype and small-quantity purchases. Their website is fast, their parametric search is thorough, and they stock an enormous range of parts in cut-tape quantities. They ship from a single massive warehouse in Minnesota, with same-day shipping for orders placed before the cutoff. For North American designers working on prototypes, Digi-Key is often the first stop.

Mouser is similar in scope to Digi-Key, with a large catalog and strong prototype-quantity availability. Based in Texas, they offer competitive pricing and a good website experience. In my experience, Mouser sometimes has stock on parts that Digi-Key doesn’t, and vice versa, making it worth checking both.

Arrow and Avnet are larger in terms of total revenue but oriented more toward production volumes. They offer design-win support (application engineers who help design in their manufacturers’ parts), better pricing at volume, and supply chain management services. For production orders, Arrow or Avnet pricing often beats Digi-Key and Mouser significantly.

Newark (element14) is another general-purpose distributor with strong European presence (as Farnell in Europe). They carry a broad range and sometimes have stock on European-origin parts that U.S.-focused distributors don’t.

LCSC is based in China and affiliated with JLCPCB. They specialize in parts from Asian manufacturers and offer very low pricing, especially for parts from companies like Yageo, Samsung, and various Chinese semiconductor firms. Stock is held in China, so lead times to North America are longer (7-14 days typical). LCSC is excellent for production sourcing of common passives and Asian-brand ICs, but less useful for Western semiconductor brands.

Minimum Order Quantities#

Not all parts are sold in single-unit quantities. Some components, especially those from smaller manufacturers or in specialized packages, have minimum order quantities (MOQ) that can be barriers for prototype work.

Cut tape is the prototype designer’s friend. Most major distributors will cut standard-length tape (typically 7-inch reels hold 5,000 0402 resistors) into shorter strips, selling as few as 1 or 10 pieces. The per-unit price is higher than reel quantity, but the total cost is manageable.

Full reels only. Some parts are available only in full reels — 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, or more units. This is common for less popular parts, newer parts with limited distribution, and parts from manufacturers who don’t support small-quantity distribution. If only 10 pieces are needed and the MOQ is 3,000, the options are: buy the full reel (expensive for a prototype), find a different part, or check if a different distributor offers cut tape.

Tubes and trays. IC packages like QFP and BGA are shipped in tubes or trays. A tray might contain 90 parts, and the MOQ might be one tray. At $5 per IC, that’s $450 for a prototype that needs two parts. Some distributors will sell individual pieces from open trays; others won’t.

Lead Times#

The time between placing an order and receiving the parts varies enormously, and understanding lead time terminology prevents schedule surprises:

In stock means the parts are physically in the distributor’s warehouse and can ship within their standard processing time (usually same-day or next-day). This is the ideal situation for prototype orders.

On order / due in means the distributor has placed an order with the manufacturer but the parts haven’t arrived yet. The expected arrival date is shown, but it’s an estimate and can slip. Don’t count on this for a hard deadline.

Factory lead time is the time the manufacturer quotes for producing new parts from the point of order placement. Standard factory lead times range from 4 to 16 weeks for most semiconductors, but during allocation periods they can extend to 30, 40, or even 52+ weeks.

Back-ordered means demand exceeds supply and orders are being filled in sequence. The order will ship when inventory becomes available, but there is no guaranteed date.

For prototype work, “in stock” parts are the only reliable option. For production, planning ahead by 3-6 months and placing orders against factory lead times is standard practice.

Pricing Tiers#

Component pricing is not fixed — it varies dramatically with quantity. Most distributors show tiered pricing:

The first tier (1-9 units) is prototype pricing and represents the worst value. The price drops rapidly through the first few tiers and more gradually at higher volumes. For BOM cost estimation on a production product, use the pricing at the expected order quantity, not the prototype price.

Price breaks can also influence design decisions. If a component costs $3 at quantity 1 but $0.30 at quantity 1,000, and the production volume is 500, it might be worth ordering 1,000 units to hit the price break — the total cost is lower for 1,000 units at $0.30 ($300) than 500 units at some intermediate price.

For critical budget-sensitive projects, get formal quotes from Arrow, Avnet, or the manufacturer’s direct sales team. Distributor website prices are catalog prices; negotiated pricing for volume purchases can be 20-40% lower.

The Broker Market#

When authorized distributors can’t supply a part — due to allocation, obsolescence, or simply not stocking it — the broker market becomes relevant. Brokers buy and sell excess inventory, connecting buyers who need parts with sellers who have surplus.

Legitimate excess inventory does exist. A company cancels a product and has 10,000 unused regulators sitting in their warehouse. A broker buys this stock and resells it. The parts are genuine, though their handling history may not meet the manufacturer’s standards.

The counterfeit risk is real and well-documented. Counterfeit components — parts that are remarked, recycled, out-of-spec, or entirely fake — enter the supply chain primarily through brokers and unauthorized channels. Counterfeit ICs have caused failures in military, aerospace, medical, and consumer applications. The risk increases for popular parts that command high prices when scarce.

When using a broker:

• Request a Certificate of Conformance (CoC) documenting the parts’ origin
• Require lot and date code traceability
• Consider independent testing by a third-party lab (visual inspection, X-ray, decapsulation, electrical test)
• Use only reputable brokers who are members of industry associations (ERAI, GIDEP)
• For high-reliability applications, perform incoming inspection on every lot

Tips#

• Always cross-check at least two authorized distributors before finalizing a parts order, since stock and pricing can differ significantly
• Record the manufacturer part number as the canonical BOM reference rather than distributor-specific ordering codes
• Take advantage of free manufacturer samples (TI, Analog Devices, Microchip, STMicroelectronics) for initial prototype evaluation before placing paid orders
• For production cost estimates, request formal quotes from volume distributors (Arrow, Avnet) instead of relying on prototype-quantity catalog prices

Caveats#

• Digi-Key and Mouser prices include handling for small orders, which disappears at volume. Prototype pricing should not be used to estimate production BOM cost
• “In stock” can change between searching and ordering. For critical parts, order promptly after confirming availability; some distributors allow cart reservation for a limited time
• International shipping adds lead time and customs complexity. When ordering from LCSC or other overseas distributors, account for 1-3 weeks of shipping time plus potential customs delays
• Return policies vary significantly. Some distributors accept returns on standard parts; others consider all sales final for semiconductors — check the return policy before ordering large quantities of an uncertain part
• Free samples from manufacturers are real and useful. Most major semiconductor manufacturers offer free samples of their ICs for evaluation, but quantities are small (2-5 units)
• Distributor-specific part numbers are not manufacturer part numbers. Digi-Key and Mouser assign their own ordering codes (e.g., “296-12345-1-ND”) that should not be used as the canonical reference
• Module quality varies widely across suppliers. Two “ESP32 modules” from different manufacturers may have different RF performance, thermal behavior, and firmware compatibility despite using the same main IC — when a module behaves unexpectedly, the module itself (not just the design) is worth investigating