A missing microcontroller can stop an entire production line – whether it costs 30 cents or 30 euros. btv technologies brings sourcing, storage, component services and secure programming together in one coordinated process for the automotive industry.
This keeps critical components available, ready for use and traceable at component level – even when availability, product lifecycles and regulatory requirements move at different speeds. At the same time, inventory can be held where it remains protected, documented and available on demand, rather than occupying space and affecting inventory metrics at the plant.
Four challenges that are connected
In practice, these issues rarely occur in isolation. When a component becomes scarce or is discontinued, it usually affects sourcing, storage, production and evidence requirements at the same time.
Supply security despite allocation
Allocation crises and geopolitical events can change the availability of individual components within days – regardless of what was contractually agreed. In the automotive supply chain, a distributor’s fair-share allocation often determines who can continue production and who cannot.
Spare parts across the product lifecycle
Semiconductors are discontinued after 7 to 10 years on average, while vehicles remain in service for 15 to 25 years. The gap between component and vehicle lifecycles therefore becomes a spare-parts question: which inventory needs to be secured in time, protected and kept usable for years?
When existing components remain usable for longer, companies can also avoid having to decide under time pressure whether to redesign or retire entire assemblies prematurely. The environmental impact in any individual case depends on the component, its application and the replacement scenario.
At the same time, plants and logistics organisations are under pressure to reduce inventory on the balance sheet, occupied space and unclear inventory coverage. The task is therefore not simply to reduce inventory or secure supply. It is to manage critical electronics so that they remain protected, documented and available on demand outside the production line.
Evidence for security and compliance
UN ECE R155 and R156 apply to vehicles in classes M and N. They require evidence for cybersecurity and software updates across the vehicle lifecycle. That makes more than batch information relevant: firmware, device identity and the programming event must be traceable at component level.
btv TAK®: Managing supply and call-offs transparently
btv TAK® organises supply, inventory, storage and call-offs for electronic components. You remain the owner of your goods; btv manages the agreed process steps and provides traceable information on inventory, movements and demand.
When forecasts change, production volumes develop differently than planned or delivery frequencies need adjustment, a coordinated call-off model helps bring supply and inventory control together. From more than 70 modular services, only the building blocks required for your components, product lines and processes are combined.
The result is not a rigid standard model, but a supply-chain structure with clear responsibilities – from storage and provision through labelling, programming and repacking to transport and customs management.
Storage: Protecting critical electronics and managing inventory predictably
With Storage, btv protects critical semiconductors, memory components, control units and assemblies for defined periods and makes them available with appropriate documentation. This allows inventory to be moved out of the plant without losing availability, evidence or planned call-offs.
The Storage service is structured in protection levels: from climate-controlled, ESD-safe and FM Global fire-protected storage through long-term storage to btv LONGEVITY® for particularly demanding components and long periods. Depending on the protection level, storage horizons range from a few years up to 50 years.
For ECUs, Active Component Care can be added. Documented storage cycles and – where technically appropriate and agreed – powering concepts and functional checks help actively consider readiness for later use. Where required, storage can be distributed across multiple fire compartments and planned across btv’s sites in Unna and Werl.
btv SEEL®: Making device identity and firmware traceable
btv SEEL® brings cryptographically protected programming into your process chain. With btv SEEL® UNLIMITED, individual device identities as well as programming and certificate data can be documented cryptographically and clearly assigned to the respective component.
This creates a traceable basis for authenticating and addressing components selectively – for example in connection with customer-managed security, update or recall processes. The specific implementation in the vehicle and conformity of the control unit remain the responsibility of the respective manufacturer.
Component Services: Prepared for the next step
Testing, taping, marking, reconditioning, packaging, cutting and forming prepare components for their agreed use. Components reach the line in the condition the respective manufacturing process requires – without additional processing steps on the customer side.
Evidence for automotive processes
Our processes are certified to ISO 9001:2015 and IATF 16949:2016. btv technologies has also completed the TISAX® standardization process and has been listed on the ENX portal.
These credentials apply across the company and form the basis for sourcing, storage, component services and programming.
When shortages become real
The chip crisis of 2021–2023, the Nexperia crisis in autumn 2025 and current DRAM pressure from AI data centers show that the cause of a shortage may change, while the consequences remain similar. According to Volkswagen, the number of semiconductors increased from around 30 in the first Golf to approximately 8,000 in current Golf models and around 18,000 in the ID.7. With every additional component, the number of points at which supply, storage, programming and traceability must work together increases.
A typical project path for long-term spare-parts supply
An ECU needs to remain available as a spare part for many years, while individual electronic components reach end-of-life much earlier. A redesign may be technically possible, but it introduces new development, testing and approval processes.
Where selectively secured inventory is the appropriate option, components or assemblies are stored before availability ends, managed through defined protection and care cycles, and called off according to demand. For ECUs, an agreed powering and functional-check concept can be added.
This keeps spare-parts supply manageable without having to clarify future readiness only when a service requirement arises.
FAQ – direct, honest, to the point
The appropriate response depends on the component, vehicle and service lifecycle, planned quantities and available supply options. A redesign may be one path; for selected critical components, protected inventory can be the more appropriate option. The key is to decide early enough that storage, call-offs and component preparation can be aligned with production and spare-parts requirements.
btv SEEL® can document programming data, individual device identities and certificate allocation at component level. With btv SEEL® INTERCONNECT, the customer’s own PKI remains under the manufacturer’s control. btv SEEL® UNLIMITED provides a cryptographically signed audit trail for individual devices and process steps. The manufacturer remains responsible for vehicle and control-unit conformity.
Not every critical inventory position needs to remain at the plant. btv can hold electronic components protected, documented and available on demand. A clear inventory-coverage and call-off logic, the appropriate protection level and traceable information about inventory and movements help keep supply manageable.
Yes, provided that storage and component care are appropriate for the respective assembly. For ECUs, this can go beyond storage alone – for example through controlled storage conditions, documented storage cycles and, where technically appropriate and agreed, powering concepts and functional checks.
