Dive Brief:
- Samsung's recall could affect more than just the South Korean company. Samsung SDI, the company's battery maker also supplies batteries to various other companies including Apple, EBN reports.
- Samsung found that when users charge their phones using USB ports, or different different cables or adaptors than the ones supplied with the phone, there is a risk of overheating. As a result, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, which had only recently been released.
- The company adds other causes for the combustion include cheap cables and adapters that don’t come with the phone. The supply chain market is filled with lower quality batteries and counterfeit products that don’t work correctly with the Samsung phones.
Dive Brief:
The ban on shipping Samsung smart phones could have a wider impact on general smart phone makers, specially since the component at fault (the battery) is an essential part of many phones.
While product defects are typically limited to a line of products, the reports that the combustion is associated with use of counterfeit chargers point to a defect in the general line of batteries rather than a specific set.
In a separate announcement, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said they issued a ban of shipping the defective Galaxy Note 7 phones in compliance with IATA’s dangerous list, in order to prevent the lithium batteries causing incidents during cargo trips.
If another phone maker is found to have used the batteries, the general smartphone industry may be shaken up. Above all, Samsung's recall and the potential for additional issues emphasize the need for general supply chain visibility, to catch similar problems and hold suppliers accountable before it turns into a legal incident.
