Distributors are often called middlemen of the supply chain. At the most basic level, they link suppliers' products to end-customers. In early electronics relationships, distributors were proximity sales locations. With their warehouses across the country, distributors would take large volumes of components, break them down into smaller lots, and resell them to customers. This helped…
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The US Patent and Trademark Office granted Google a patent this month for securing, monitoring, and tracking cargo shipping containers. The abstract describes a two-way communication system supported by an electronic bolt, a network gateway, a Web-based platform, and a mobile device. The wireless system would augment the mechanical seals used today. It would enable…
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Today I received a press release from the Underwriters Laboratories alerting consumers and manufacturers to a counterfeit UL mark on an LED power supply. The release is pretty short, so I’ll include it here: NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — UL is notifying manufacturers, Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs), consumers, retailers, and distributors that the…
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PHOENIX — Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, a business region of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), introduced the Wi-Go Module, a wireless accessory module for the Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. Freedom development platform. Created by Avnet engineers, this development board transforms the Freescale Freedom development platform into a completely portable wireless sensor system. In support of the Wi-Go…
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MANSFIELD, TX – Mouser Electronics, Inc., a top design engineering resource and global distributor for electronic components, could be the top employer in all of Texas. The company, which employs nearly 1,000 people at its global headquarters in Mansfield and pumps more than $835 million into our economy every year, is a top five finalist…
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In a previous article, I introduced a very innovative, needful device that helps track containers in real-time while providing sensory information that includes, temperature, humidity, shock, GPS, door open/closed, and general atmospheric data to a remote monitoring station. (See: Star TRECs for the Supply Chain .) In this follow-up article, I want to comment on…
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Following economic setbacks in 2009, the world market for electronics manufacturing services (EMS) is projected to grow this year 9.4 percent globally
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So, how many mobile phones makers does the world need? Well, apparently one more: A Finnish one. Jolla Ltd., pronounced Yolla and whose name means dinghy or small agile boat in Finnish, is a new smartphone technology startup that's setting up a new ecosystem, forming an alliance in Hong Kong, and building its mobile OS…
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There are more reports out this week that Apple Inc. is moving away from using Samsung chips in its products. All of the reports cite the ongoing Apple-Samsung patent battle as the root of the problem. Apple, says one report, doesn't want to use its competitor's technology in its products. Really? Then what about displays?…
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I am this week attending a conference in Stuttgart, Germany, on — wait for this — manufacturing. The World Manufacturing Forum, as the name suggests, is an international event, but the organizers aren't shy at all about one of its key goals, which is to actively promote and encourage a manufacturing industry in the heart…
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