Sometimes manufactures of electrical components guarantees that a product will be produced for a number of years so you can rely on getting new components for future production runs. What is the term for such a manufacture guarantee?
Sometimes this is something that you can buy, you can pay the manufacture up front for a guarantee that you will be able to buy the component X years from now. I know there is a specific term for this, but I cannot find it.
Examples:
It is especially important on digital components. You can exchange resistors and capacitors without problems, but digital parts require design and qualification.
Often a last-buy date is given. Before which you have to order your last batch. Keep an eye out for, or register to notifications of Product Change Notes (PCN). These will tell you when and how parts change. (eg: different plastics, different country of origin, new process)
Recently many semiconductor companies have merged and split. (atmel, nexperia, microchip, freescale) Often they will shuffle their assets, and those are production facilities. Expect PCN's after merges and splits.
