Future Electronics no longer an authorized distributor for TI/National?

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SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
Just received this in an E-mail:

Since completing its acquisition of National Semiconductor in late September, Texas Instruments (TI) has worked diligently to fold the former National products into its existing distribution network in all regions of the world. During this process, TI made the decision to end its relationship with Future Electronics, and the company is no longer an authorized distributor in any worldwide location for the TI/National product portfolio.

Effective today, December 2, 2011, Future cannot secure product from TI/National, and any product purchased from Future will not be under warranty.
I don't recall seeing Future Electronics being a distributor for TI before, but they are still a distributor on National's site:
http://www.national.com/en/partner/distributors.html

Wouldn't you think that they would update the site if they were discontinuing them as a distributor?

Anybody know anything about this?
 

bountyhunter

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,512
No, I left NS before the sale. But I was at NS when they acquired fairchild so I know how the song goes: they dump most of the old products with low profit margins and cut ties with places that were not doing good for them. This is probably the first step in the "house cleaning" to come.

I think Digi-Key is the big distributor?
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
They can say what they want, if it is writing at a National Semiconductor site then they better get moving. While it is there it still represents that product line.

Having said that, I was never aware of Future Electronics.
 

bountyhunter

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,512
They can say what they want, if it is writing at a National Semiconductor site then they better get moving. While it is there it still represents that product line.
Not necessarily. I know at NS, their website information was never accurate. The people "maintaining" the web sites were total morons. I had numerous times where long standing technical articles and app notes I had posted for customers to use simply vanished. The softweare NS used was so stupid it was incapable of recognizing and grouping a part such as LP2951A if the base part number LP2951 was entered into the system. But the worst thing was: anybody at NS had "access" to be able to go in and modify posted documentation such as product portfolios. I personallty had a case where a summer Marketing intern went in and completely screwed up the product portfolio for a released part. The schematic he posted was for a switching converter and the part was a linear reg. I would never trust anything posted by NS as either accurate or timely. In the "transition time", I would always assume products and suppliers could be revoked at any time.

I have no idea why TI is choosing to severe relations with Future electronics. They are probably consolidating and house cleaning and cutting loose the distributors they don't like. I have no doubt they will also be throwing out most of NS products from the ones they will continue to make and support.
 

zhangyi17

Joined Dec 5, 2011
1
Future Electronics is starting to ship back their stock of National Semiconductor's parts. They are out of the National's distribution chain.

The decision from National/T.I. to drop Future doesn't come as a supprise.
Future was T.I. distributor and then they had an issue in the 1990s that killed the business relationship...





Just received this in an E-mail:



I don't recall seeing Future Electronics being a distributor for TI before, but they are still a distributor on National's site:
http://www.national.com/en/partner/distributors.html

Wouldn't you think that they would update the site if they were discontinuing them as a distributor?

Anybody know anything about this?
 
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