General Membership consists of companies that are Independent Distributors of electronic components.
ANNUAL DUES STRUCTURE
Annual dues for General Membership are allocated by company size:
- Small Company (1-19 employees/contractors) $3,300
- Medium Company (20-49 employees/contractors) $5,500
- Large Company (50+ employees/contractors) $9,350
Please follow the links below to access detailed information regarding Membership Requirements, application documents, and application process instructions and timeline.
- General Membership Requirements
- IDEA Code of Ethics
- General Membership Application and Determination Process
- General Membership Application Document Packet
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
- Company must be in business for at least three years or be owned by a parent company that has been in business for at least three years.
- Company must pass a desktop audit as performed by IDEA Staff to verify compliance with IDEA-QMS-9090. Note: Applicants and Members shall agree to be subject to an onsite compliance verification audit by IDEA Staff or their contracted services at the discretion of the IDEA Executive Director.
- Company must provide objective evidence of Product Liability Insurance at a minimum of $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 aggregate annually.
- The Company’s Member Representative must be a member of Executive Management in the Member Company as approved by IDEA Staff.
- Company must agree to abide by the IDEA Code of Ethics through signature by the designated Member Representative and circulate it once a year to employees/contractors.
- Company must agree to abide by the IDEA Membership Manual through signature by the designated Member Representative.
- Company must fulfill a minimum of forty (40) hours of contribution to IDEA activities per year to maintain membership status.
- Company and Owners must pass a thorough background check and shall not have a criminal record involving conduct relevant to the Industry or postings on public places that could reasonably be expected to embarrass IDEA, or cause harm to IDEA or its Members’ brands and images.
- Company must be a Member of ERAI in good standing.
- Company cannot operate out of a residential structure or shipping services address.
- Company may not use multiple aliases without acceptable explanation as determined by IDEA.
- Company must provide its state and municipal business licenses and certificates of “Good Standing.”
- Company must submit information about any ERAI and GIDEP reports that have been filed on the Company while an IDEA Member or within four (4) years prior to applying to become an IDEA Member.
- Company cannot appear on the EPLS Government List or any of the following lists found on the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security website while an IDEA Member or within four (4) years prior to applying to become an IDEA Member:
- The EPLS Government listing*
- The Denied Persons List**
- The Unverified List**
- The Entity List**
- The Specially Designated Nationals List**
- The Debarred List**
- The Nonproliferation Sanctions List**
*http://www.sam.gov
**http://www.bis.doc.gov/complianceandenforcement/liststocheck.htm
- Company must not have any unresolved issues that the M&EO Committee considers inconsistent with IDEA’s mission and Code of Ethics. Such issues include, but are not limited to, illegal behaviors, bribery, kickbacks, embezzlement, payoffs, credit or nonsufficient funds issues, counterfeit parts issues, or poor business practices. At the M&EO Committee’s discretion, any unresolved issues may require a written explanation followed by a subsequent review by the M&EO Committee.
- Various items of objective evidence as requested by IDEA are listed in the General Membership Application Requirements Confirmation Checklist to evaluate conformance with the above Membership Requirements.
Membership in IDEA will only be granted if the applicant has been found to meet the above requirements, as demonstrated by at least a supermajority (75%) vote of the M&EO Committee after reviewing or receiving a report of the Applicant’s compliance with the above requirements.
IDEA CODE OF ETHICS
Membership in the Independent Distributors of Electronics Association (referred to below as IDEA, or the Association) is a privilege extended to those organizations who meet the eligibility requirements, and is not a right. Membership may be continued unless the Membership and Ethics Oversight (M&EO) Committee determines that the conduct of a Member has been such, that in the best interests of IDEA, the Member should be suspended or their Membership terminated.
This Code of Ethics has been duly adopted by the Board of Trustees under the authority vested in it by the IDEA Bylaws.
- The Member will support and acknowledges that it is subject to the IDEA Bylaws, as from time to time amended, and all such resolutions, and policies as may from time to time be established or adopted by the Board of Trustees of IDEA.
- The Member will conduct commerce in a moral and ethical manner so as to bring no discredit to IDEA, nor to diminish the prestige of the Membership therein. The Member will make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure all of its employees and representatives will conduct themselves in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws. Any act or behavior that is deemed to be in violation of Membership standards, upon review of the M&EO Committee, may result in Membership termination under such rules relating to termination as may from time to time be in force.
- The Member will employ commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that all products it sells have clear title, are free of liens, and conform to all applicable IDEA Standards that are then in force.
- The Member will not knowingly misrepresent products. The Member will employ commercially reasonable efforts, and in any event not less than such efforts as may from time to time be required under all IDEA Standards then in force, to ensure truth in advertising.
- The Member will give advice to its clientele in the course of its independent distribution of electronics to the best of its ability.
- The Member will only use the IDEA Logo in accordance with the Association’s Trademark Usage Policy for the IDEA Logo.
- If a Member is found to have breached this Code, that fact may be disclosed to Member and non-member entities that may inquire into that Member’s status under this Code.
- If a Formal Inquiry (as defined in form number IDEA-1001) is filed against a Member, resignation will not preclude the completion of the Formal Inquiry Process by the M&EO Committee if it elects to continue such process and the publication of the results of its investigation, and the Member shall continue to cooperate in the conduct of that process until its completion.
Approved and adopted by the IDEA Board of Trustees on January 15, 2009.
Amended by the Membership and Ethics Oversight Committee on September 20, 2012.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND DETERMINATION PROCESS
The IDEA Membership Application and Determination Process requires all Applicants to prepare a comprehensive application packet with supplementary documentation that demonstrates compliance with all of the stated requirements. The Applicant must be aware that the application process is very extensive and shall require a significant amount of time to complete and that the Applicant must conduct a thorough review of the application prior to submission. The Applicant is responsible for submitting a complete application that contains all items listed in the General Membership Application Requirements Confirmation Checklist.
Incomplete applications will not be accepted. If an application is submitted with missing requirements/items, IDEA Staff will return the application. The Applicant is required to wait thirty (30) days before resubmitting the application. The Applicant may only resubmit an application one (1) additional time after initial submission. If the application is not complete in the resubmission, IDEA Staff will inform the Applicant that the application is closed. The Applicant must wait twelve (12) months from the date of notification to submit a new application for Membership.
There are certain prerequisites that the Applicant must meet prior to submitting the application. In the Application Preparation Phase, the Applicant must complete the following:
- Purchase and implement IDEA-QMS-9090 (available here)
- Achieve compliance to IDEA-QMS-9090 for a minimum of thirty (30) days
- Download and complete the General Membership Application Packet
- Download and read the IDEA Membership Manual
Applications will not be accepted if the minimum compliance requirement of thirty (30) days has not been met by the Applicant. Applications must be submitted after achieving this requirement. No application documents or information, whether partial or complete, will be accepted until the Applicant meets this requirement.
After meeting the minimum thirty (30) day compliance requirement and submission of a complete application, the Applicant can expect the following timeline for each process phase if there are no issues that occur throughout the process:
- Phase 1: Initial Application Submission - ~4-8 weeks
- Phase 2: IDEA-QMS-9090 Compliance Verification Audit - ~2-8 weeks
- Phase 3: Membership and Ethics Oversight Committee Review and Vote - ~2-8 weeks (depending on meeting schedule)
- Phase 4: IDEA-ICE-3000 Inspector Certification - ~within forty-five (45) days of conditional Membership Approval
- Phase 5: Membership Granted - ~2-4 weeks
Please reference the complete Process Outline of the Membership Application and Determination Process in the IDEA Membership Manual.
The IDEA General Membership Application Packet may be downloaded by following the links below.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION DOCUMENT PACKET
All documents included in the General Membership Application Document Package below must be completed and submitted in accordance with the Application Instructions.
NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be accepted. If an application is submitted with missing requirements/items, IDEA Staff will return the application. The Applicant is required to wait thirty (30) days before resubmitting the application. The Applicant may only resubmit an application one (1) additional time after initial submission. If the application is not complete in the resubmission, IDEA Staff will inform the Applicant that the application is closed. The Applicant must wait twelve (12) months from the date of notification to submit a new application for Membership.