October 17,
2006
Distributors
of electronic components have been beefing up services in response to needs from
their customers. The services they are developing range from design support to
supply chain innovations. With product development becoming both faster and
more complex, distributors find they can compete on services – not just price –
because their manufacturing customers need help in keeping up the pace of new
product introduction and also need help in reducing inventory levels. Here are
some recently introduced services from distributors.
At
the catalog distributor, Digi-Key, the company is pushing more of its
engineering support to its website. The distributor finds that customers would
rather grab technical information in a self-service manner from the internet
rather than waiting for a callback on the phone. “In many cases, new
engineering services are presented in the form on micro websites specialized by
technology,” says Steven Tsukichi, VP of marketing at Digi-Key. “Distributors
are reorganizing information so engineers can find it all in one place.”
In
addition to moving technical services to the web, Digi-Key has also shifted
training to the web so customers can grab product and technology training on
the run any time of day, as needed, even in the middle of the night. “We’re
offering Product Training Modules that are available on demand at our website,”
says Mark Larson, Digi-Key’s president. “It’s interactive, so it’s more than
just online seminars. The user can contact us at any point or set up a web chat
or a phone call during the seminar.”
As
well as reorganizing technical information for ease of use, distributors are
also presenting new types of information online. “One new service we recently
introduced is access to our Design Support Services (DSS) department,” says
Tsukichi. “The DSS is another layer of technical support that is meant to help
customers with higher-level design problems. Staffed by electrical engineers,
it’s Digi-Key’s version of field application engineers.”
Over
at Avnet Inc., the company finds that its customers need more help getting
unbiased technical information on components. “Customers are coming to us and
scratching their heads about the latest technology, whether it’s RFID or motor
control. They’ve been asking the suppliers and they’re getting biased
opinions,” says Marc Gsand, VP of marketing in Avnet’s Semiconductor Group.
“They’re looking for us to sit down and give an unbiased understanding of
what’s happening in the marketplace.”
Like
Digi-Key, Avnet is also working to aggregate technical information into
user-friendly self-service centers on the internet. The company recently opened
its Design Resource Center, which brings a variety of information into one
location. “The Design Resource Center is an unbiased site that brings solutions
and software into a setting where customers can access it easily,” says Gsand.
Tools available at the Design Resource Center include reference designs,
hardware evaluation kits, and development tools.
Arrow
Electronics Inc. has recently developed collaborative forecasting services to
help its customers get a better handle on the right amount of inventory they
need. “Our collaborative forecasting and replenishment program helps us shift
our customers from hard purchase orders to consistent six-month forecasts,”
says Rob Ende, director of supply chain optimization at Arrow. Arrow studies
its customers’ actual demand and creates a forecast based on past consumption
and current marketing conditions. “We use the program to get more consistent
visibility into the customer’s demand. That helps us move to a just-in-time
inventory model that takes inventory out of the supply chain,” says Ende. He
calls it “replacing inventory with information.”
Another
trend among distributors is their work to help customers through the rocky road
of environmental compliance. “As more countries enact environmentally friendly
regulations, you’re going to see a growing customer awareness of green
products,” explains Robin Gray, executive VP of the National Electronic
Distributors Association. He notes that distributors have been very active in
helping customers understand and meet these regulations.
He
also points to energy consumption as a new twist in the move to green products.
He expects distributors will be instrumental in helping customers shift to
energy efficient components, particularly in the area of power supplies. “The
power issue is new. People want more energy efficiency in their products,” says
Gray. “There is an increased focus on managing power more efficiently.”
Visit SourceESB.com for all your sourcing needs.
We would like to hear from
you. Please e-mail article feedback or
comments to esbideas@SourceESB.com