We both have a keen interest in the aerospace and defense industry, and given that our consulting lifestyles have us on airplanes most of the time, we're also naturally curious about what goes on behind the scenes. Listening to United's air traffic control channel, Channel 9, is fascinating and mesmerizing. Steve also can't get enough…
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In Improving Visibility Into Subsidiary Operations, Part 1, I discussed the strategies a company can deploy to ensure it has adequate visibility into subsidiary operations. The first option involves introducing a common ERP (enterprise resource planning) system across the company. This ensures that the same processes and metrics are enforced throughout the business. There are…
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PHOENIX, Ariz — ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), a premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for efficient electronics, has announced its top distribution partners of the year. The honors were given to distributors that led overall channel sales, grew market share, captured increased sales of products from acquisitions made by ON Semiconductor, and scored high…
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CHICAGO, Ill. — Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: MEI), a global developer of custom engineered and application specific products and solutions, today announced financial results for the Fiscal 2011 third quarter ended January 29, 2011. Methode's third-quarter Fiscal 2011 net sales increased $12.2 million, or 13.7 percent, to $101.3 million from $89.1 million in the third…
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Knowing that the 2011 growth plans of many companies depend on succeeding in China, we have identified several factors that firms must recognize if these plans are to yield the desired results. The first of these is somewhat discouraging: Success won’t come quickly. Even though economic growth is galloping in China, and many firms have…
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DURHAM, N.C. — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces a two-year extension of the strategic agreement signed with Zumtobel Lighting GmbH in 2008. The companies continue to work together to bring industry-leading LED lighting to Europe. “Cree and Zumtobel see the LED lighting revolution taking hold in Europe and we…
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Recently I received an invitation to a Webinar whose purpose was to “optimize pay-per-click ads.” It turned out the “optimization” being offered, based on the presenter's research, had to do with a failure to clearly state the value proposition. Who would have thought? That a Webinar was offered to attract marketers and address this problem…
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MANSFIELD, Texas — In keeping with its philosophy of delivering What’s Next to the engineering marketplace, Mouser Electronics, Inc. is staying ahead of trends in embedded processors and development tools by stocking the latest solutions, helping design engineers make our lives smarter, greener, and more convenient. Mouser is known as a leading global design engineering…
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There has been a lot of talk in the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) community about the increasing demand for outsourced manufacturing services in non-traditional markets, such as medical, industrial, military/aero, and renewable energy. With outsourcing in sectors like solar panels forecast to grow as much as 400 percent by 2014, this movement appears to be…
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PHOENIX, Ariz. — Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) has been named No. 1 for the third consecutive year in the Wholesaler: Office Equipment and Electronics category in Fortune magazine’s annual “World’s Most Admired Companies” list. Avnet, a global value-added technology distributor, connects the world’s leading technology suppliers with a broad base of customers around the world. In…
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