Did you know 82,000+ product lifecycle changes in 2023 had no PCN?

Product Change Notifications (PCNs) are vital to effectively managing a product’s lifecycle. But despite their value, they aren’t always issued when a change occurs. 

In 2023, Z2Data captured more than 328,100 EOL notices, with some 82,200 of those lifecycle changes occurring without any PCN issued. 

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That’s 25% of all total lifecycle changes!

The lack of forewarning not only hurts a manufacturer’s reputation; it also costs companies thousands of dollars in time lost scrambling to find alternatives and potentially conducting unexpected redesigns.

Let’s take a look at why PCNs don’t always get issued and what can be done about it. 

What is a Product Change Notification?

First off, let’s look at what a PCN is. 

A PCN is a formal notification issued by a manufacturer to inform buyers, suppliers, and other stakeholders about upcoming changes to a given product. These changes typically cover a range of modifications such as alterations in product specifications, manufacturing processes, materials, or even a product’s discontinuation.

PCNs are intended to give everyone the “heads up” they need to adjust; ideally, each stakeholder can use the information to plan around the upcoming change and minimize any potential disruptions it might have on their supply chain or manufacturing process.

As a result, PCNs play a critical role in the effort to maintain transparency and communication within the manufacturing industry. Without them, companies risk serious consequences including last-minute redesigns, inventory shortages, product delays, and even compliance issues. 

For all their importance though, not every manufacturer issues a PCN every time they make a change to a product. Why?

What are the rules around issuing a PCN?

When a product change occurs, suppliers must release a detailed product change notification (PCN) based on the JEDEC Standards. These standards are used worldwide to ensure product interoperability by setting the criteria for timely reporting of changes to electronic products to customers. Specifically, the standard requires a supplier to notify its customers with a PCN 90 

days before the proposed change. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Between 2020 and 2022, Z2Data found only 27% of PCNS issued were in compliance with JEDEC Standards.

Why PCNs aren’t always issued?

Excluding outright error, a couple common reasons include:

They may not want it to be major public knowledge

Sometimes manufacturers want the ability to quietly make changes to a product without issuing a PCN on it. This might be because they don’t feel the change affects a significant enough number of buyers, or they feel the change is sensitive in nature and want to limit awareness around it. In either case, sometimes manufacturers choose to forgo a formal PCN. (Although they may inform their biggest buyers of the change). The result? Companies who don’t have a process in place to recognize that a change has occurred can end up with a nasty shock when the product goes obsolete, no longer fits the product design, is too difficult to procure, or something else. 

They lack the tools to issue a formal PCN

For small-to-medium manufacturers, the process for issuing a PCN may not be formalized. Meaning PCNs get issued for some parts and not for others–not through willful negligence or error, but simply because a robust process for doing so isn’t in place yet.

Rather than issue a formal PCN a manufacturer might instead make changes to their website pages (where the product is listed) and call it a day. This, of course, doesn’t help the busy buyer who critically depends upon that part–but it’s a risk they may face.

What can you do about it?

If the components in your BOM number in the hundreds or more, it may be difficult to track quiet changes such as a product being taken off a website, its documentation replaced with new information, or some other form of silent adjustment that comes with no formal alert. If you’re a major customer you might benefit from being told by your supplier directly even if no PCN is issued. But for everyone else? Tough luck. 

If PCN alerts won’t catch what’s missed and you don’t have the manpower to check for quiet changes yourself, what can you do?

PCN Manager: A 360 View Of Your Product’s Components

To tackle this gap between PCNs issued and changes made without any notice, Z2Data launched PCN Manager, a tool that detects, collects, and organizes data on product lifecycle changes to give you a comprehensive view of your potential risk. 

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PCN Manager identifies PCNs issued and unofficial product changes and then organizes them into a single dashboard with each change ranked by severity of impact, so you can start your day on the biggest risks to your product deliverability.

One of the core advantages of PCN is that it doesn’t just track what’s changing–it tracks which suppliers are adding or reducing your risk. PCN Manager gives you insight on which suppliers are and aren’t initiating PCNs when they make product changes, so you can better understand how your supplier relationships are impacting your operations. 

Remember those 82,200 product lifecycle changes that had no PCN? 

Teams who use Z2Data are getting alerts on that missing 25%, giving them the clarity they need to prevent product disruptions early on. 

If you’d like to see how PCN Manager can help you track and manage changes that affect your business, register for a free trial.