Even in the most challenging of economies, electronics companies design new products. Component makers and distributors that assist OEMs with their designs stand to benefit from high margins or volume orders once an item reaches mass production. Catalog distributors that specialize in low-volume, high-mix design and engineering orders, such as Mouser Electronics, weather market volatility…
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a series examining the electronics industry’s response to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Going digital Electronics companies are adjusting their business strategies in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Hand in hand with a push for efficiency is a greater willingness to invest in and work toward…
While 2020 is behind us, the continuing global pandemic has taught a host of supply chain lessons, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of electronics suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers. In the turn of a calendar year, this traditional industry has gone from embracing the way it’s always been done to looking at new ways of…
Customer experience matters more than ever because today’s consumers expect greater responsiveness in their daily lives. A much-quoted study by experience management services firm Walker Information predicted that by the end of 2020, customer experience will have overtaken price and product as the key brand differentiator. This reality also is reflected in expectations in the…
The supply chain industry, for better or for worse, has been largely defined by its recent challenges and the ability of businesses to handle those challenges. From pandemic to vendor disruptions, managing a modern supply chain comes with its fair share of obstacles. Fortunately, however, strengthening your supply chain to withstand changes and challenges is…
Supply chain management is facing its own pandemic of outdated processes. As many as 85 percent of workers state that they could handle their duties more efficiently with enhanced workplace tech. Fortunately, this tech is available and already transforming supply chain management in the fight against Covid-19 challenges. From enhanced tracking and logistics capable from…
Expansion of U.S. manufacturing growth that began trending upward last summer is expected to continue through 2021, along with growing capital spending and rising capacity utilization, according to the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s semiannual economic forecast predicts U.S. manufacturers will record a healthy net increase in revenues totaling 6.9 percent this year, reversing a…
Technology has been the leading weapon in brand owners’ arsenal for fighting counterfeit components and products. Big data and analytics, automated monitoring and removal services, blockchain, modular customization and intra-component communication are currently generating interest among industry leaders and their supply-chain partners, according to the Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA). Counterfeit components…
While the traditional supply chain does exist — a chain of suppliers, distributors and customers all linked together linearly — the reality is that most supply chains are multi-tier. For the uninitiated, this means they are multiple single-level collaborations linked or stacked within a seamless chain. There are many benefits to building a multi-tier supply…
On December 31, Texas Instruments Inc. and Avnet Inc. formally end their 40-year distribution relationship. Avnet’s success in replacing that business – estimated at 10 percent of Avnet’s sales — will be evident in the future, said Phil Gallagher, who was named Avnet’s CEO on November 23. Avnet’s fiscal 2020 sales reached $17.6 billion. TI…