(ERAI: Naples, Florida) -- The first Electronic Industry Supply Chain Conference (EISCC) will be hosted May 1–2, 2008, in Las Vegas by ERAI Inc., a global trade association for the electronics industry. The event will focus on essential procurement and quality concerns and on regulatory issues affecting the global supply chain. It will include sessions ranging from counterfeit and high-risk part mitigation to enforcement of intellectual property, and understanding import, export, and international traffic in arms regulations (ITAR).

“As more companies outsource globally, there are a number of issues affecting program managers, and supply chain and quality control personnel that need to be addressed,” says Dan DiMase, president of ERAI. “This conference is designed to do just that—provide attendees with valuable insights and solutions to help mitigate and potentially eradicate these problems and help ensure continued business success in a highly competitive market.”

The conference, which will target common challenges facing various sectors of the industry, will include the following sessions: The Latest Visual Inspection Programs and Techniques to Identify Counterfeit and High-Risk Parts; Testing Techniques and Standards for Various Components Used; Legal Liability of Counterfeits and High-Risk Parts in the Supply Chain; Identifying and Controlling Risks of Item(s) and Vendor Selection; Understanding Government and Industry Reporting Agencies; Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Rules and Regulations that Affect Your Transactions; Import Regulations; Export Regulations; and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

Scheduled speakers, representing both government and industry, include Henry Livingston from BAE Systems Electronic Warfare and Sensor Systems; Bill Pumford, Bob Karpen, and Stan Green of Government Industry Data Exchange Program; Keith Gregory from Greenburg & Bass LLP; Debra Eggeman of Independent Distributors of Electronics Association; Jason Teo of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific; Mark Marshall of Integra Technologies LLC; Phil Zulueta from Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Craig Pinkerton and Joseph Santosuosso, from PricewaterhouseCoopers; Diganta Das, Ph.D., from the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering at University of Maryland; Julie Salcido of the U.S. Department of Commerce; Craig Thurber from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a representative from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

EISCC is open to industry professionals from all sectors of the market, including franchised and independent distributors, original component manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, government agencies, and nonprofit associations.

For more information, visit www.erai.com/publicvegas08.aspx.