Cryptoman: You make a god point. In many cases a distributor will know only about the components it secured a win for. That's why distributors are trying to design more of the board--not just key components but surrounding parts as well. The more of the design they capture, the more sales they are likely to reap down the road.
Using design wins as a success metric sounds like a suitable method to measure performance. However, as most OEMs prefer to keep the details of their product portfolio and the designs confidential, it is hard for the distributors to know which components are used in which designs/products of an OEM. This will cause the design wins to fail as a metric.
When I was working for an SME, we used to get frequent visits from distributors who were keen to sell as many electronic components as they could during our meetings. While doing that, they would ask detailed questions on the product, the design, market and the volumes etc. which we would find annoying due to the confidential nature of the products. We would be extra careful in order not to provide such details. After a successful sale, the only information the distributor would have was the number of a particular component that our company would buy from them. The distributor would have no idea on where the components supplied by them were used in our products.
I think many OEMs work on similar principles regarding their designs. As the competition gets tougher each day, the level of secrecy on each product increases.
We also use design wins as a metric but it is sometimes a bit nebulous in that not all design wins translate into real sales. It is obviously dependent on how the end product takes off and what the second source situation looks like.
Its always tricky for distributors to understand and track the progress of the project with OEM's. In some areas like aerospace, medical and defense it could take more than couple of years for the product to actually come into production. I do not think design activity is the right measure for the production orders.
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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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