Designing Products For Conflict Minerals Compliance

According to enoughproject.org: "Dodd-Frank
is not a solution to the social, historical,
political, and economic problems of the
DRC...but a stong and firm U.S. response to
the call from the Congolese people...to
end years of illicit plundering."

OHIO (SUPPLY CHAIN DIGEST) - Beginning in May 2014, companies will need to report to the SEC the presence of any conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Conflict Minerals law, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, specifies these new requirements for publicly traded companies that manufacture products containing tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold and their derivatives.

Manufacturers should begin implementing identification of critical minerals early in the product development cycle so that any potential issues can be resolved before they become costly problems. Additionally, by identifying minerals across the organization, manufacturers may be able to negotiate bulk purchase rates for the materials used across the company’s portfolio of products. This could have an enormous impact on reducing costs of goods sold while generating savings. Source: Designing Products For Conflict Minerals Compliance (Reliability: Medium)

Comment: While identifying any potential conflict minerals early in the design process is optimal, current products already in production are also affected by this law. It is likely manufacturers who do not monitor their supply chain from mine to product will have difficulty conforming with the law. Therefore, it is important for any manufacturer who uses tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold or their derivatives to begin addressing the use of conflict minerals now.