The resilience of supply chains has never been more critical. Over the past year, consumer reliance on supply chains was made abundantly clear, yet ongoing trade battles, pressure from tariffs, and the Covid-19 pandemic exposed chronic vulnerabilities in existing systems. Adding fuel to the fire, sudden supply chain disruptions became increasingly common. In fact, given…
I remember reading Hamlet by William Shakespeare when I was in high school back in Minnesota. Most of my classmates considered it torture, but I loved it. The intensity, the intrigue, and, of course, those immortal words of wisdom: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou…
Is it possible for an entire industry to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder? Ever since the proverbial Internet bubble burst in the early 2000s, it feels as if many members of the electronics supply chain have traded “irrational exuberance” for an over-abundance of caution. And each ensuing dip in the economy has reinforced this survival-mode…
When the business migration movement began in the electronics sector, there was a fairly clear-cut disaggregation of product development and production — design in one location and manufacturing in another low-cost, developing region. As domestic demand in emerging economies has grown, manufacturers are increasingly looking to design products specifically to meet niche local customer requirements.…
The competitive pressure on members of the global electronics sector has never been greater. While electronics OEMs recognize that their supply chains represent a significant opportunity to gain efficiencies, reduce cost, and boost market share, many struggle to take their supply chain process improvement efforts beyond the proverbial low-hanging fruit. At Avnet, we recommend customers…
At the beginning of each New Year, I, like many others, like to take an inventory of my life — both personally and professionally. I think about which attitudes and behaviors have served me well in the previous year, and consider which didn't quite measure up to the standards and goals I have set for…
With New Year's Day around the corner, members of the electronics supply chain are naturally curious about the promise and perils that 2014 will bring. Clearly, no one can say with certainty what lies ahead for our industry, but as Shakespeare once wrote, “what's past is prologue.” I decided to take a look back at…
Each year, Gartner releases its Supply Chain Top 25 Ranking to recognize companies with the world's highest performing supply chains. And each year huge high-profile companies like Apple, Amazon.com, and Wal-Mart are ranked among the top performers. However, it is not just the size of these organizations that distinguishes them; it's their attitude about their…
Before I sat down to write this, my first EBN Velocity blog since I assumed responsibility for Avnet's custom supply chain solutions business — Avnet Velocity — I spent a fair amount of time conferring with the editors of EBN and my Avnet Velocity predecessor Gerry Fay about their visions for the EBN Velocity project.…