Lindsley Ruth used to dread May, the month Electrocomponents PLC takes probing questions from investors. In his first couple of years as CEO, Ruth didn’t have a lot of positive news to share and difficult questions from analysts were difficult to answer. This May was different. Electrocomponents is on a roll. Sales and profits are…
Electronics component shortages are now so severe that some OEMs believe their growth for 2018 could be stymied if they are unable to get parts. “We have not missed deliveries yet, but we are on the edge,” said George Whittier, COO at manufacturing and engineering services provider The Morey Corp. “Shutting down one of our…
Arrow Electronics Inc. sits today atop the distribution market. Victorious and, for the first time, alone. CEO Michael Long should savor the moment. Except, he has loftier goals. Arrow wants to be a solutions and technology platform offering data, design, engineering, product development, software, supply chain and other services to the global economy. This is…
Anyone who is in procurement knows that high-volume purchases mean discounts and oftentimes, leverage. Most small businesses don’t have the need – or the pocketbook – to achieve either. However, when small businesses combine their resources for group purchasing, their negotiating position is significantly strengthened. UNA, launched in 2012, is one of several group purchasing organizations…
For decades, U.S.-based electronic component distributors’ global growth strategy was acquisition. Beginning with the EU, American distributors acquired foreign competitors to establish themselves in a geographic market. The same is true for Asia-Pacific, and acquisitions there will likely continue. For foreign distributors entering the Americas the trend has been different. While there have been acquisitions—by…
Although the electronics supply chain has been dancing around the issue of double ordering for several quarters, a recent Morgan Stanley report finds there’s been a “significant uptick” in double ordering that has extended component lead times even further. Evidence of double ordering also has analysts questioning the sustainability of the current component-demand upcycle. “To…
Significant change is coming to the manufacturing arena. As artificial intelligence, the industrial IoT and the smart factory begin to transform production, Intel Corp. is gauging the impact such technologies will have on manufacturing and the supply chain — and the humans that oversee these complex operations. The benefits of smart factories are many: autonomous…
U.S. manufacturing experts say when it comes to China, trade and tariffs, industries such as electronics should keep their eye on the long game. “The [Trump] administration is playing a larger chess game than it is given credit for,” said Tom Derry, CEO of the Institute for Supply Management. “It’s not just about aluminum and…
Chuck Delph, Avnet Inc.’s president of Electronics Marketing for the Americas since 2016, is the latest Avnet veteran to depart the company. Delph has been named president of Vallen Distribution, effective April 9, 2018, and will be based in Vallen’s Belmont, NC, headquarters. Delph is among a number of senior executives who have left Avnet…
U.S. trade policies are making headlines as the Trump Administration re-examines international trade agreements and implements tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Cost increases in raw materials, trade compliance or the transportation of goods disproportionally impact small and midsized businesses, according to research by Freightos, an online freight marketplace. Among companies that import infrequently –…