When engineers choose our boards, they are putting their trust in us. They trust that the systems we sell will be available long term and will not be suddenly made obsolete or drastically changed. At BotBlox, we deeply understand the risks engineers face when choosing an off-the-shelf system from a relatively small company, and so we have put in place the BotBlox Supply Guarantee Program on specific products to give our customers the confidence they need to design their systems using our hardware.
Products that are covered under the BotBlox Supply Guarantee Program have the following characteristics:
HIGH VOLUME PRODUCTION
These boards are manufactured in high volume, typically exceeding 1000 units per batch. High volume production means we have a well-tuned manufacturing process, with failure rates not exceeding 0.5%. This allows us to quickly replenish our stock when needed, reducing overall lead time.
MATURE, TESTED DESIGN
The design of boards in this program are at least 1.5 years old, and the design has not undergone any significant revisions in the past 1 year. In addition to this, over 1000 of these boards are currently “in the field”, with reported failure rates not exceeding 1%.
5 YEAR LIFETIME GUARANTEE
We offer a minimum 5 year lifetime guarantee from the release date of each of our boards.
18 MONTH'S WORTH OF COMPONENTS STORED IN-HOUSE
To mitigate any short term fluctuations in the semiconductor supply chain, we physically store up to 18 month’s worth of the core components needed to build these boards. This allows us to maintain board manufacture even in the event of total supply chain disruption in the semi-conductor industry. This strategy enabled us to continue supplying boards through the 2020-2023 chip shortage and continues to ensure we are decoupled from short term volatility in the semiconductor market. In addition to this, we only use chips on our boards that have a 10 year minimum supply guarantee.
CONSTANT MANUFACTURE PIPELINE
The stock level of boards in this program are audited monthly and we maintain a near constant pipeline of manufacture on these boards to ensure we rarely run out of stock. This is also part of our commitment to ISO9001 compliance.
SHORT LEAD TIMES
When we do run out of stock, we are able to manufacture more boards typically between 4-6 weeks.
IN-HOUSE DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
All BotBlox boards are of our own conception and design, and we maintain manufacturability and supply chain of the BoMs of our boards directly. If obsolescence occurs on a component we use, we are able to quickly swap out and initiate a redesign on the board to ensure we can continue manufacture.
DESIGN FILE AVAILABILITY FOR HIGH VOLUME CUSTOMERS
For some customers, even the measures taken above are not enough, and integrating our board means they have to be assured of our commitment to steady supply for 10+ years. Such customers usually commit to high volume orders and are looking to integrate our hardware into their systems for the long term. For these customers, we are able to provide access to our source hardware, firmware and software, as a hard stop guarantee against obsolescence.
At BotBlox, we are not just committed to delivering high-quality hardware; we are dedicated to pioneering innovations while maintaining a steady, reliable supply. Our focus on customer satisfaction drives us to constantly improve and adapt, ensuring that every solution we offer is not just a piece of hardware, but a promise of reliability.
CURRENTLY COVERED UNDER THIS PROGRAM
The following boards are currently covered under this program:
BB-SWB-E-1: SwitchBlox
BB-SWN-E-1: SwitchBlox Nano
BB-GGB-C-1: GigaBlox
BB-GGN-A-1: GigaBlox Nano
BB-GNR-A-1: GigaBlox Nano RJConn
BB-GNP-A-1: GigaBlox Nano PicoConn
BB-SWR-F-1 & BB-SWR-G-1: SwitchBlox Rugged
BB-GGR-C-2: GigaBlox Rugged
BB-SWI-B-1: SwitchBlox Industrial
Last Update: 20 December 2023