There is a "massive opportunity" for communications service providers to grow enterprise revenues by offering a complete integrated communications technology service portfolio, according to a recent survey released by Pegasystems Inc., active in business process management and customer relationship management solutions.

The rise of just-in-time manufacturing has created a revolution across the supply chains of many industries, including electronics components. But there is a negative.

With advancing technology and the short electronic product lifecycles that come with these innovations, the electronics industry is ever-evolving and changing to meet the needs of consumers globally. While there are a number of best practices to follow and supply chain trends to be aware of when planning for the product development and launches of the next phone, computer, tablet or other electronics device, there are four that top the list, according to the Change in the (Supply) Chain survey that IDC Manufacturing Insights conducts each year on behalf of UPS.

Widely divergent lifecycles for electronics products are creating increasing demand for obsolete and end-of-life components, which sometimes end up being sourced from the gray market. Let's look in detail why that is happening and how product lifecycles are creating a gap in the electronic components supply chain that is in danger of being filled by counterfeit components.