One of the drawback in supply chain is mainly the distributors are targeting the big or high end customers. I meant those who are generating higher number of invoices or orders. When compare with medium and lower level of customers, this can generate high turnover with less effort. This type of attitudes by major distributors can force the medium and lower level of customers to wait for an indefinite time for the supply of components. More over it can break the supply of components from the manufacture to the assembly units.
The distribution role will continue to grow. The distributor that can provide value add to an end customer through engineering support or breadth of product offering, will eventually win out not only in one socket but with all the surrounding technology. Indeed, this benefits the small to medium size companies that do not have the sales force to call in every customer. In a lot of cases, they rely on distributors to help introduce and proliferate their products.
"Less is more" slogan is writen in almost every wall in our company, manily focused on programs we called ESA ( Eliminate Symplify Automate ) honestly this programs have save lots of money and enourage innovation in all the development teams.
Even we are speaking about a different sector (in principle, for the fact in reality cars segment involves also electronics and suppliers), I would say "doing more with less" has been perfectly represented by Chrysler miracle. Today they have announced full payback of Govs funds. I really hope other manufactures are going to achieve similar results.
Many small to medium sized chip design companies cannot hope to penetrate the larger companies without the help of major distributors. Winning a socket requires the supplier to first win the technical battle with the customer engineerig team then the (oftentimes) more difficult battle with the procurement group whose mandate is to reduce the number of suppliers. To this end large distributors can help smaller design companies not only to supply and service existing parts but to define new roadmap products for the larger companies. Becoming part of the roadmap "inner circle" is key to long term growth.
A very interesting article, i particularly appreciate the clear distinction between the needs of larger customers and the smaller ones.
the move by Arrow is great indeed, but we should remember that these are not just ordinary consumers who patronize electronic components, but they are designers.
There is a limit to which a distributor can dictate or profer alternatives to a designer, because, he has an end product in mind. In addition to that, an engineer working in distribution company without practical experience in designing, cannot sufficiently proffer alternatives to a practicing design engineer.
I would feel beyond staff engineers who can handle basic need, like alternative parts on a BOM, they distribution companies may need professional consultancy from practising design engineers if for example a whole design concept needs to be changed due to current market trends or an unexpected shortage of components.
Not withstanding, this is a great move by Avnet and Arrow
I think it's a great idea to provide engineering support to your suppliers to enable them to cater to their customers better. It may not be so useful in cases where the products are standardized, however, when the products need to customized, the engineers can play a great role in understanding customer's needs and providing better solutions. There is a cost involved in hiring engineers, but that can be recovered in the form of better satisfied customers and ultimately higher revenues.
This is a great article with a little more in depth details about current and forthcoming plans. It appears that Arrows plan has covered most details and should get the job done. It is nice to see Arrow has an excellent support setup for smaller companies. It seems like nowadays if you're not one of the large market companies, you are treated like second fiddle; obviously Arrow doesn't cater their business that way.
I foresee that there will be huge improvemnets to the distribution channel which will enhance the engineering design along with improved lead times and greta facilities.
"Arrow's goal is to provide services that will satisfy [customer] needs, and we invest accordingly to deliver our value proposition," says Kong. "
These goals will put customer service/satisfaction on highest priority hence there will be loads of support to all the engineers. their network is well planned to cater to different needs of both suppliers and the customer.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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