What ships with my parts, and why do date codes, labels and sealed bags matter?

Every lot ships with a provenance pack. It is the record of where the parts came from and how they were handled between the distributor's shelf and your dock. You can read it, file it, and hand it to your own customer.

The pack is the same six items on every lot:

• distributor invoice copy with prices redacted
• manufacturer or distributor certificate of conformance
• date code close-up photographs
• label scans
• serialized tamper-evident labels
• moisture barrier bags shipped sealed as received, or resealed with fresh desiccant and a humidity indicator card inside floor life

Distributor invoice copy with prices redacted. This is the invoice for the actual purchase of your parts, with our cost taken out. It names the authorized US distributor that sold the lot, the part numbers and the quantities. It is the document that ties the parts in your hand to the source they were bought from.

Manufacturer or distributor certificate of conformance. A certificate of conformance is the seller's signed statement that the parts supplied are the parts the part number describes. It travels with the lot and goes into your file. If your incoming inspection asks for a CoC by name, this is that document.

Date code close-up photographs. Every lot is photographed on arrival in Los Angeles, close enough to read the date and lot codes on the parts themselves. A date code tells you how old the lot is. You see the codes before the box leaves us. The photographs answer the same question months later, when someone asks what you were shipped.

Label scans. A label carries the identifiers the seller put on the lot, including the part number, the quantity and the codes. We scan the labels on the reel, bag or box and send the scans with the pack. If a line is questioned after it has been consumed, the scan is what you go back to.

Serialized tamper-evident labels. Each package is closed with a numbered label that does not come off cleanly. The number is recorded on your paperwork. When the shipment reaches you, you can see whether the package was opened between our bench and your dock.

Moisture barrier bags shipped sealed as received, or resealed with fresh desiccant and a humidity indicator card inside floor life. Moisture sensitive parts ship in the sealed bag they arrived in. Floor life is the clock that runs while such a part sits outside a sealed bag. Where a bag has to be opened, it is resealed inside that window with fresh desiccant and a humidity indicator card, so you can read the condition of the bag at the moment you open it.

Every lot is checked on arrival against a fixed list. Date and lot codes are photographed. Labels are scanned. Moisture barrier bags are checked. Counts and weights are compared against the packing slip.

That check happens before the lot is labeled, packed and documented for export. The pack you receive is built from it.

The pack is a chain of custody. It records who sold the lot, what the labels said, what the codes read, and how the parts were sealed when they left Los Angeles. Parts are bought from authorized US distributors. The invoice copy in the pack names the one that sold yours.

It is not a laboratory report. What it gives you is the source of the lot and a record of how it was handled.