TOP 25: GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS

Supplement to EE Times

TOP 25:GLOBALDISTRIBUTORSSupply chain moves into design services

MAY 16, 2011

May 16, 2011 Electronic Engineering Times S2

TOP 25 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS | www.eetimes.com

CONTENTSA S U P P L E M E N T T O E E T I M E S

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The big keep getting biggerBy Bolaji OjoThe top 10 will continue to chart thedistribution market’s course

Distribution picks up slack in the design chainBy Barbara JorgensenAs supplier and OEM engineering resources are cut back, distributors’ role rises

Gert Labuschagne marks first yearat NewarkBy Barbara JorgensenCatalog distributor’s president discusses customer focus

Avnet’s Rick Hamada talks transitionBy Barbara JorgensenSet to assume CEO role in July, veteran vows to emphasize ‘external focus’

What makes specialists special?By Barbara JorgensenTo compete with the big broadlines, speciality distributors have to be focused

There’s more than one way to reachthe customerBy Barbara JorgensenNewark’s multichannel approach now includes CAD tools

Company listings

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2011 TOP 25 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS

The big keep getting biggerBy Bolaji Ojo

Here are a couple of fairly safe forecasts forthe global distribution market. First,many of the small to midsized compa-nies that made this year’s EBN/EE Timesranking of the world’s biggest electroniccomponent distributors will not beincluded in a future chart; eventuallythey will be pulled into thewarm and ever-expandingembrace of the biggest players, notably Arrow Elec-tronics Inc. and Avnet Inc.Those two companies havebeen aggressive acquirers inNorth America in recentyears, and they’ll likelycontinue mopping up thesector as they tighten theirhold on the industry.

The second, perhaps startling fore-cast is that fast-growing global distributor WPG Hold-ings, which occupies the No. 3 slot in the currentranking, will become the world’s biggest electronicscomponent distributor within a couple of years.

WPG is already giving Avnet and Arrow—respec-tively ranked first and second—a run for their moneyin terms of component sales. The bigger companiesare ahead in the current ranking because of theirextensive business activities in the technology solu-tions market, an area that involves servicing thehigh-tech, industrial and manufacturing marketswith end-equipment technology and consulting solu-tions. Avnet and Arrow are not yielding ground in the

components distribution market, but they havealtered their growth formula by diversifying opera-tions into related technology areas.

Overall, the market grew at a double-digit clip in2010, recovering sharply after having slipped in 2009.Collective revenues for the top 25 distributors surgedto $68.6 billion, up 31 percent from $52.4 billion inthe prior year. The top five companies accounted for87 percent of the sector’s sales last year.

Future Electronics is growing rapidly in Asia,according to sources at the company, and Premier Farnell is seeing increased growth globally even as it

implements plans to entrench itself inNorth America. Even accounting forthe tens of smaller distributors that didnot make the list or any midsized onesthat did not respond to the EBN/EETimes survey, it’s clear that the biggestdistributors represent about four-fifthsof overall revenues. That strong salesposition, along with the giants’expanding range of services, means thetop 10 distributors will continue todetermine the distribution market’s

direction for the near future. WPG Holdings’ exponential growth

is an important tranche of the indus-try’s still-unfolding story. Sales at theTaiwan-based distributor have surgedon the back of China’s rapid growthand increased role in the electronicsmanufacturing sector. The company

dominates the regular components distribution busi-ness in Asia. But it’s looking over its shoulder at Avnet,Arrow, Future Electronics and other large players asthey furiously expand their operations in the region.

The contenders are coupling their regular distribu-tion business with value-added design and engineer-ing services in a bid to differentiate their offeringsand whittle WPG Holdings down to size. Will theysucceed, and how will WPG Holdings respond?

That’s next year’s story. p

Bolaji Ojo ([email protected]) is editor in chief of EBN(www.ebnonline.com).

The top 10 willcontinue to chart

the distributionmarket’s course

S5 Electronic Engineering Times May 16, 2011

As supplier and OEM engineeringresources are cut back, distributors’

role rises

Distributionpicks upslack in thedesign chain

Design service: Suppliers want it. Customers want it.Distributors say they have it.

As suppliers find themselves strapped for engineer-ing resources, they’ve encouraged customers to seekdesign assistance from the Web or from their channelpartners. Distributors, in particular, have been happyto pick up the slack, despite the cost of hiring engi-neers. Customers now have all constituencies vyingfor their attention, and the result has been a signifi-cant shift of engineering resources and talent into the channel.


By Barbara Jorgensen



“One of the big changes we’ve seen is that customers wantmore of a [full design] solution,” said Ed Smith, president ofAvnet Electronics marketing for the Americas. “If they cometo us for an FPGA, they also want the parts that work aroundthe FPGA.”

“Customers are outsourcing more of their design efforts,”echoed Lindsley Ruth, corporate vice president at Future Elec-tronics Inc. “They are looking for someone that can go beyonda component-level design that can be provided by anyone.”

Distributors benefit from this trend in a number of ways.They embed themselves more deeply within a customer,expand the number of products they sell and have visibilityinto end-product production if the project moves offshore.“Solutions have become more prevalent, and customers canuse reference designs that we develop here at Avnet, developproduct schematics and then order the bill of material,”Smith noted.

But as distributors embed themselves more deeply withcustomer designs, are suppliers losing touch with OEM engi-neering trends? Actually, executives say, supplier-distributor-customer bonds have to be tighter than ever.

Doing more with lessIndeed, suppliers are part of the trend that’s driving distribu-tion deeper into design. As their engineering resources arecut, component makers are focusing on supporting only theirlargest customers.

“Many [of our suppliers] do not have the resources to sup-port the broad and growing customer base, and they rely onus to do that for them,” said Peter Kong, president of ArrowGlobal Components. “In turn, they provide us with productinformation, application knowledge, training and access toother resources. The best suppliers with the best distributionprograms recognize and leverage our capabilities.”

Broadline suppliers, such as the former Motorola Semicon-ductor, have split themselves into small specialty companiesin recent years and are no longer one-stop shops for a varietyof semiconductor products. Customers now can chooseamong the “best of the best” component technologies buthave more suppliers from which to choose. Distributors thatare franchised by these chip makers sift through the variousproduct offerings to help customers make the best selectionfor their application.

“Information exists on the Web, but someone has to comein who is unbiased, can cull through that information andprovide the best solution in a cost-effective way,” saidFuture’s Ruth. “There is so much information available, it canget overwhelming.”

All this engineering assistance, of course, comes at a cost:Distribution is first and foremost a sales-driven businessmodel. High-salaried engineers are a fixed cost in these organizations and have to be deployed toward distributors’most profitable opportunities. Distributors thus are workingto scale their design services toward a highly segmented cus-tomer base.

“Arrow’s goal is to provide services that will satisfy [cus-tomer] needs, and we invest accordingly to deliver our valueproposition,” said Kong. “Our large customers typically do not require design support but need a complex supplychain solution, which could also include services like programming, end-of-life services and reverse logistics. OurArrow Alliance model fits this well.”

Distributors can spread the expense of hiring engineersover a customer base that numbers in the tens of thousands.“The middle 30,000 customers require full service and localsupport,” said Kong. “These customers are supported by ourfield engineers and extensive global network. Arrow has a terrific offering for our small and midsize customers thatincludes a host of Internet capability, access to a large pool of inventory and tailored support.

“Our suppliers appreciate this approach, as it allows us topresent their technology to market at all customer levels andhelp them identify the best prospects for their latest offerings.”

Within distribution companies, engineering resourceshave shifted from a largely supplier-focused model—a field-applications engineer dedicated to, say, Texas Instruments orInfineon Technologies—to a technology-focused model. FAEsare now experts in a specific area, such as analog or FPGAs,and are trained through the combined efforts of distributioncompanies and suppliers. Arrow and Avnet, for example, hostprograms that span several days and include suppliers andcustomers.

Programs such as Avnet’s X-fest, Speedway and On-rampare intensive hands-on training sessions, said Smith.

Arrow hosts its Arrowfest training seminars in citiesaround the world. Said Kong, “We have developed better,

‘Engineeringresources arebeing put togood usebecause wetouch morecustomers’ — Avnet’s Ed Smith

‘The middle30,000customersrequire fullservice and localsupport’— Arrow’s Peter Kong



more-sophisticated coordination with our suppliers to worktogether to provide solutions for our customers. We can assistour customers in every phase of their design, from new prod-uct introduction through end of life.”

Expertise on demandCustomers are also relying on distributors for support in newor specialty markets, such as solid-state lighting. “In lighting,in particular, we are talking about a transition from the elec-trical space to electronics,” said Future’s Ruth.

Future and other distributors have created separate busi-ness units dedicated to lighting and have hired engineerstrained in heat dissipation, optics and other issues related toLED design. “Customers that need support in this marketrange from industrial to medical to defense and aerospace,”Ruth said.

“Where you could design just components before,” saidAvnet’s Smith, “you now need optical expertise for lenses. Ittakes a lot of technologies to design one lighting system.The lighting market has created its own set of experts—thermals, insulation, EEs and a mechanical person, [all] justto design one system.”

Meanwhile, high demand for systems that include touch-screens and panels is fueling the market for analog design serv-ices. “We are seeing more interfaces in terms of touchscreens—the human interfaces,” said Smith. “In many of the designs weare doing, [analog] technology is a priority. We see this fromsuppliers such as Atmel and Freescale, and now you have ARM,so we have to take a look at how you sell ARM. We start withthe technology and then look at the chip and then add the ben-efits and features of the products [the end customer] needs.”

As for vertical markets, Smith said he’s seeing designdemand from the military sector, “which is looking forminiaturization so a soldier can carry a lot more equipment.Where soldiers used to carry a knapsack, they now carry alaptop. Night-vision technology and [technology for] blockingradio signals—all this has to be miniaturized. We are makingthings smaller and more secure.”

The increased investment in design and engineering talentisn’t limited to the semiconductor space. Interconnect, pas-sives and electromechanical (IP&E) specialty distributors suchas TTI Inc. have always provided technical assistance and arestepping up their programs in response to customer demand.

“The first thing we’ve done is to change the profile of the[type of] salesperson we are recruiting,” said Michael Knight,vice president of corporate product management for TTI. “Weare looking for more-technical salespeople, including [those]having an engineering degree.

“The second thing we started is, where historically you’dhave an FAE, we have internal groups of applications engineerswho are ‘on demand.’ If a salesperson wants to help a customerdeeper into a design, they can bring in one of these engineersby phone or on the Internet—a kind of on-demand FAE. “

In fact, distributors are offering many of these optionsbecause design assistance isn’t one-size-fits-all. Engineersneed assistance 24/7 all over the world. “As far as the way acustomer wants to be touched, some want to go online; somewant a warm body at the end of the phone; some want an 800

number. So we satisfy those requirements,” said Smith. “Wehave videos online and a design resource center. People don’tdesign just between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.”

The high price of talentAll this design support is expensive. One way the channel off-sets that is to put more resources on the Web. The effortinvolves more than just posting data sheets; it includesdesign tools, reference designs, videos and Webcasts.

“We have a design research center so a customer can gothere 24/7 to look at a reference design, pull up a video andwatch the process online, click over to the components siteand look at the schematics,” said Avnet’s Smith. “We alsohave a centralized technology group, so a customer can callin or have a chat online. We have multiple ways to do thesame thing.”

Another way distributors manage engineering costs is tohave a good idea of the value of their services. That value, likecomponent prices, can differ from region to region.

Services are almost always attached to a component sale,although distributors have tried a fee-for-service model. “Our‘price’ is based on the value of the service delivered,” saidArrow’s Kong. “Most of our customers are local, and, veryoften, there are distinct value propositions for products andservices delivered among regions.

“At Arrow, we believe local service and support providehigher value for a good portion of our customer base. Theprice is also affected by local costs and alternatives.”

The channel also keeps an eye on how its engineeringresources are deployed. At TTI, FAE assistance is triggered bya sales request. “Typically this will be a customer with whomwe have a longstanding relationship, and this is part of thecustomer support process,” said Knight.

Said Smith: “If we had to hire engineers for just a smallnumber of customers, we couldn’t do it.”

As distributors respond to demand for design assistance,the capability becomes less of a differentiating factor amongcompanies. Still, each distributor finds ways to stay unique.

“I’d say that during the downturn, as a percentage of oursales force our FAE population grew,” said Smith. “Supplierstook people out of the field, and we did more design work.During the upturn, that has increased. So if you look at it thatway, a greater percentage of our engineering resources is beingput to good use because we touch more customers. That helps

‘In lighting, weare talking abouta transition fromthe electricalspace toelectronics’ — Future’s Lindsley Ruth



our profit margins and helps offset pricing pressures.”Increased engineering support by distributors also means

that suppliers are more distanced from their customers. Thatused to be a problem in the channel; suppliers worried aboutlosing visibility into their customers’ design and productdevelopment plans. It’s less of a problem now, Smith and oth-er distributor executives said.

“I think the systems are so well connected between us andthe supplier that as we put [design registrations] in, they go tosupplier almost immediately,” Smith said. They are not con-cerned about the visibility.

“It used to be we weren’t well connected, and we’d have todo updates and reviews, but now you can pull up a report andsee what the customer is working on.”

Registration as an intelligence toolThe design registration process enables a distributor to becompensated for its design assistance, but it also provides val-ue to suppliers. Suppliers can see which of their new prod-ucts are gaining traction, and for which applications.Registration programs also help suppliers and distributorskeep track of a project if manufacturing is moved offshore.

For distributors to be adequately compensated for theirdesign services, suppliers and distributors have to ensure thatif a project is shipped offshore, distributors can provide com-

ponents at the manufacturing site. Many design-win pro-grams tie their compensation directly to production volumeorders. Distributors may get a preferred price for a period oftime or a higher profit margin on the volume sales.

“One way we [track design programs] is to be more global,”said Smith. “We have multiple design centers, and we con-nect our global design centers from North America to Asiaand everywhere in between. The information can be passedall over the world.”

Distributors expect the model of increased design supportto persist. “Distributors have a growing direct connectionwith customers,” said TTI’s Knight. “Whoever has [the cus-tomer] relationship has to get involved in the design process.This may not be the ideal choice for suppliers, but they maynot have that choice as their resources are cut back.”

Suppliers depend on distributors to introduce their prod-uct and provide the appropriate engineering resources,Knight said. “We are the gateway into a big customer base,and customers are using distribution more. Some of that is atthe behest of the supplier.”

There are complications within the framework of supplier-distributor design programs. As Knight said, “We are still along way from nirvana.” But as long as customers and suppli-ers are being asked to do more with less, distributors arepoised to fill the gaps. p

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Gert Labuschagne was named Newark’spresident in May 2010. Before joiningthe Premier Farnell plc group,Labuschagne was president of AltechDistribution, South Africa’s largest dis-tributor, and led its joint venture withU.S.-based Arrow Electronics, success-fully merging four complex and sizablebusiness units into one dynamic organ-ization.

In an interview with EBN Community editor Bar-bara Jorgensen, Labuschagne talked about trends inthe catalog business and Newark’s role in meetingever-changing customer requirements.

EE Times/EBN: Customers are increasingly lookingfor design assistance from their channel partners.Have you changed your business model at all toaccommodate changing customer demands?

Gert Labuschagne: To start, weconsider ourselves a high-service,multichannel distributor, ratherthan a catalog distributor, althoughcustomer demand for our print cat-alog is still high and we will contin-ue to make it available. Our focus is on delivering the highest level of service to our customers indesign, maintenance and procure-ment, however they wish to dobusiness with us: online, by phoneor in person.

These days, more and more ofour customers are opting for anonline experience, especiallydesign engineers, who face verycompressed design cycles.

With the launch of element14 almost two yearsago, we’ve reinvented the high-service distributormodel online. The first global engineering commu-nity in our industry, element14 enables engineers tomultitask in a way they’ve never been able to before;they can research new technologies, discuss themwith peers and experts, chat live 24/5 online or byphone with our technical support team of productspecialists, and then buy the parts at the communi-ty’s store, which goes directly to Newark’s Web site.They can even view product and design solutionstraining on the site.

We’re the only high-service electronics distributorthat can provide this breadth and depth of technicalsupport online or off. We’ll be announcing some real-ly innovative design services and tools on element14soon that will save engineers even more time.

EET/EBN: As such, you can charge a singleprice—often a premium price—for those productsand services.

Labuschagne: Our focus is on serving the needs ofthe engineer and electronics buyer. We don’t get pref-erential pricing [for volume orders]; we don’t registerdesigns with the manufacturer. We support our cus-

tomers with a huge base of products,and with tons of information andservices and even CAD software. Ourprice is not based on going back andforth with the supplier and gettinganother price.

Our customers are really lookingto us to be a one-stop shop for every-thing required before high-volumemanufacturing. They come to us fora broad range of products—our glob-al network has more than 3,000 sup-pliers—a huge amount of productin stock and critical information.

Customers can go to element14’slive collaborative Web site and getcurrent information on new prod-ucts, legislation, suppliers or even

Gert Labuschagne marksfirst year at Newark

Catalog distributor’s presidentdiscusses customer focus

‘With element14,we’ve reinventedthe high-service

model online’



the situation in Japan [in the wake of the March 11 earth-quake and tsunami]. In the volume market, customers wouldhave to wait for a salesperson to call on them and then regis-ter the design, which requires all kinds of information to beexchanged. In our world, we sell the product at a market-competitive list price.

We do not track the project; we focus on the design engi-neer and the MRO [maintenance, repair and operations] mar-ket. They depend on us to have their products in stock, anyinformation they need and the logistical ability to delivertheir order as soon as the next day.

EET/EBN: But is there a disadvantage in not participatingin demand-creation programs?

Labuschagne: For design engineers, we focus on seedingthe market with new-product introductions. We work closelywith our suppliers, so we know the latest products comingout of each vertical segment. Then we pass that informationon to our engineers. We support the product from the techni-cal side with our team of engineering specialists and makesure we have it in stock when they need it.

EET/EBN: What are some of the pressures you see drivingthese market trends?

Labuschagne: The pressure today—from an engineer’sviewpoint—is all about time-to-market. A few years ago, thedesign cycle time may have been 15 weeks fromconcept to market; now they have about a quar-ter of that time. There is much greater competi-tion around how quickly manufacturers areintroducing new versions. And while there is noshortage of information available online forengineers, it is not distilled.

That’s where we come in. We provide accurateand current information about hundreds of sup-pliers, and we have their latest products in stock.And again, beyond all the product informationthere is our element14 community, where engi-neers can collaborate and find services and toolsbeyond the products we stock, which supportsthem from the conceptual design phase throughprototyping.

The other reason engineers come to us is that they can buyin small quantities, without incurring minimum order fees.We don’t need you to order 100 pieces or $100 worth of com-ponents; you can order any small quantity.

EET/EBN: Still, that’s a lot of resources, especially if youdon’t deal in the high-volume space, which is where most ofthe dollars go.

Labuschagne: From our overall high-service perspective,we are very focused on the value we provide to our cus-tomers. We offer free purchasing tools, such as i-Buy, whichnow serves over 2,000 customer locations, to make it easy forbuyers to manage and control their electronics spend. Thereis a lot of innovation, efficiency and choice in our multichan-nel model to make it easier for customers to deal with us.

Some of our competitors are online only, so our multichan-

nel approach is a clear differentiator. We don’t tell our cus-tomers, “You can buy from us, but only this way.” We take alot of pride in our commitment to customer service, so wemaintain an extensive sales team to assist our customers ifthey choose that route.

This includes external salespeople, so if a customer needsto see someone, we can accommodate them. We also have oneof the best technical support [centers] for our customers. Sup-port is offered through 24/5 online live chat or direct phoneconnection.

We don’t say one size fits all; we give the customer thechoice. While we are part of a global organization, we are alsoregional and maintain inventory in every region we do busi-ness in to assure our delivery promises. We can have a globalrelationship with our customers, or we can have a singlepoint of contact. We can ship from one warehouse, or we canship from all regions of the world. If the customer wants usto position inventory where they are, we can offer them thatopportunity as well.

EET/EBN: I know Newark and Premier Farnell do a lot ofin-depth research about customer habits and demands. Howdo you use that information?

Labuschagne: Everything we do is through the lens of ourcustomer. I synthesize all the significant data into a weeklybusiness update that I send to the entire organization. We

start by looking at our weekly net promoter score,which we derive from customer surveys that areconducted postpurchase. It tells us whether a cus-tomer is a promoter, detractor or somewhere inbetween. We don’t just guess how our customersfeel about us; we measure our accountability tothem, and we judge our performance against it.

EET/EBN: Is there anything you would add inthe last few minutes?

Labuschagne: I would like to talk about MROengineers, whose needs are as urgent as those ofdesign engineers. Both groups value the high serv-ice level we provide. When a piece of equipmentis broken, or the production line is down, having

access to in-stock parts is critical and can prevent costlydelays.

This can be a very complex business, but we have greatlysimplified it for our customers, who urgently want to gettheir prototype out of the door or who might have an emer-gency on the factory floor. However they want to do businesswith us is how we want to do business with them.

And with element14, by combining community and com-merce, we have found a way to delight all engineers and sup-pliers. Plus, with features like Roadtest, engineers can registerto sample the latest development tool and only need to writea review for the community in return for keeping the prod-uct. It is a huge value to suppliers to get that kind of feed-back, and needless to say, engineers are thrilled to have thatkind of access to new technologies.

We will soon be announcing even more new services andtools to support and help fast-track the design process. p

‘We don’t tellcustomers,

“You can buyfrom us,

but only thisway” … wedon’t sayone size fits all’



Longtime Avnet Inc. executive RickHamada will take over as CEO of thetop-ranked distributor in July. Hamada, president and COO at thetime of his promotion, talked to EBNCommunity editor Barbara Jorgensenabout the transition to his new roleand what to expect from the distribu-tion market for the rest of the year.

EE Times/EBN: What are your short-terms plans asyou prepare to become CEO in July?

Rick Hamada: First of all, based on the way wehave rolled out with an announcement in Februaryand the transition in July, for the first 100 days whatI am trying to do during this pretransition period isset a new context for Rick. I have been here a longtime, and I have been able to influence the strategiesand decisions [at Avnet]. It is highly unlikely thatanything dramatic [will happen] in the short term.

Now that the word is out, I amspending time listening to theteam. You can count on continuedemphasis of [Avnet’s] core values—the respect, the integrity and cus-tomer focus. However, I don’t wantit to be business as usual.

How can we take the energy ofthis transition to look at new ideas?I want to make it clear that we areusing this energy to create moreopportunities in the marketplace.We are very market-led; we don’ttell our partners in China, forexample, what they should do.

So I want to use this transitiontime to get in touch [with themarket] and make sure I listen.

We will continue to see the themes of globalizationand great people. I like to call this period “Rick 3G.”Our strategy will always be profitable growth, and Iexpect to help Avnet extract more value for share-holders—to maintain our global footprint but makesure we respect regional values.

Under the topic of profitable growth, [CEO RoyVallee] and I have had a division of labor; he has takenmore of a lead in value-creating acquisition, and myfocus has been on organic growth. I want to see usbecome more disciplined in the customer engage-ment process. We already have relationship manage-ment focus councils and a number of activities thatwe integrate [into Avnet’s Voice of the Customer ini-tiative].

As I have said, the best way to start growing is tostop shrinking. The [Avnet management] team has alot of encouragement, but we are always working onbeing more disciplined. We are always asking if weare responsive enough. Are our cycle times too long?Are there other skills within our [core expertise] wecan sell? If we can complement great organic growthwith M&A, we have a bright future.

EET/EBN: How do you see distribution’s role inthe design chain changing?

Hamada: What I would tell you is[our] challenge in the design chainand supply chain is keeping themconnected. That’s been a trend[Avnet Electronics Marketing] hasbeen dealing with for 10 years.

In regard to the design chain, wetry to be clear with our suppliers:What parts do they want to coverwith their direct resources? Wheredo they want to win the design?Which part of the customer base dothey want us to cover? Do we bring acomponent to market, as opposed toa total solution that may includetechnologies with multiple vendors?If semiconductor companies have

Avnet’s Rick Hamadatalks transition

Set to assume CEO role in July, veteranvows to emphasize‘external focus’

‘You can count on continuity but

not business as usual’



become more specialized, what do they want to do withthat specialization? So we offer a range of solutions for awide portfolio of customers.

X-fest was a step on that path [to providing solutions]. Alot of customers used to build around Xilinx, but we want-ed to make sure we could focus on Xilinx’s design andbuild the rest of the board, such as the products we offerin IP&E [interconnect, passives and electromechanical].

So call our strategy “X-fest with a twist.” We see cus-tomers building around ARM solutions that are bringingsmartphones to the table. Our customers are using a coreset of technologies, building around an architecture andintegrating software. We are able to bring an innovativesolution to our customers and accelerate the market forour OEMs and ODMs; we help them take advantage ofthe latest and greatest.

EET/EBN: But that takes an investment in engineeringresources. Engineers are a fixed cost in an organizationthat is sales-driven. How do you manage that?

Hamada: I would say we look at the ratio of ourinvestment in salespeople to technical salespeople toFAEs all the time. For us, we know it takes a significantinvestment in technology resources—sometimes theyare supplier-specific and other times more of a technolo-gy segment, say, microcontrollers and high-performance

analog—and we can scale that over a portfolio of cus-tomers and supplier partners.

In the technology-specific arena, it’s all about the criti-cal mass—the allocation of resources and what degree ofspecialization we need—and our regional managersmake these decisions.

EET/EBN: In Europe, you have EBV Elektronik design-ing chips.

Hamada: We think it is pretty innovative … EBV is oneof our top-performing businesses, and even with thisteam we are still looking for ways to grow. The EBV chipinitiative is one of our best examples of profitablegrowth in action.

EET/EBN: Any last thoughts?Hamada: What we are trying to do, in addition to this

being a smooth and seamless transition, is to challengeour management team. You can count on continuity butnot business as usual. [I want to see us] use the energy ofthis transition to keep an external focus—not always aninternal focus—and I want to make sure I have my fin-ger on the pulse [of the market] and keep the momen-tum going.

We have to stay in sync with the marketplace butmaintain our positive growth momentum. p



As the distribution industry continues to consolidate, the midsizebroadline tier has become virtually extinct. As global leaders Arrowand Avnet provide economies of scale, with more than 600 suppliersand almost $20 billion in revenue each, smaller distributors competeby becoming more specialized. Catalog distributors offer a wide variety of components in small quantities; interconnect, passives andelectromechanical specialists focus on the 80 percent of the pc board

What makes specialists special?By Barbara Jorgensen

To compete with the bigbroadlines, specialtydistributors have to befocused

that is IP&E; unauthorized distributors zero in onhard-to-find parts. Each has a value proposition thathas enabled it to survive massive industry consolida-tion and thrive when times are good.

Even within a single category—catalog distribu-tion—companies identify with a specialty niche or service.

We spoke with executives from Top 25 catalog dis-tributors Allied Electronics, Digi-Key Corp. Newark(see related story, page 28) and Mouser Electronics,as well as from TTI Inc. a volume distributor with aspecialty in the IP&E market. Below are excerptsfrom those conversations.

Scott McLendon, vice presidentof product management and marketing,Allied Electronics

EE Times/EBN: Have you seen the demand fordesign services from your customer base change alot in recent years?

Scott McLendon: I would say the amount of tech-nical support required for the engineer has shiftedover a few years toward online support. Everybodytoday has to work within their schedule, and if [ourcustomers] want to work at 2 a.m., they need techni-cal data available. We have focused on the area ofproviding rich content and having that available tothe design engineer via the Web and making theWeb site easy to navigate.

We’ve also made the user interface as easy as pos-

sible—the fewest clicks—but there is still a desire tohave a warm body at theother end of the phone. Wehave maintained the tech-nical support team withengineers that help withapplication questions, andwe have maintained anexpanded our field salesorganization.

We get lumped in withthose who produce a cata-log, but we have a salesforce that approaches 400people and 53 salesoffices. Those people areout dealing with cus-tomers and [their] uncer-tainty. Customers needassistance even morewhen something goeswrong; it is important to have somebody locally. Youcan be passive and have everything online, or youcan be proactive and talk to [customers]. We want todo both; we want to service those customers, be theydesign or procurement professionals.

EET/EBN: I am hearing that customers want tostay with a distributor that helps with design—areyou getting pressure to sell volume?

‘You can be passiveand have everything

online, or you canbe proactive

and talk’ — Scott McLendon



McLendon: All of us have this catalog model—our busi-ness was built on selling one or two pieces at high margins—and that is a huge service for the design community. You havethe infrastructure to do that.

But in terms of selling volume, part of that trend is [thatcustomers] want to see the distributor that did the work getthe reward down the line, and that means the volume sale.Manufacturers have put part or all of their product portfoliosin for design registration programs, and we have to workthrough making [that process] easier. Registration programscan be cumbersome for the manufacturers and distributors aswell. It really is one of the ECIA-type topics, but I think every-body thinks design registration is a good thing.

EET/EBN: How do you differentiate yourself within the cat-alog market?

McLendon: When it relates to design, there are all the verytypical things we provide. Today, engineers are faced withmore challenges and less time to address them. Everybodyhas been faced with cost-vs.-functionality trade-offs. So thequestion is how, as a distributor, we can help them throughthose decisions.

We do that by having multiple options for them. We canuse the latest technologies, have shorter lead times, and pro-vide visibility and guidance by offering multiple options forthem. We don’t necessarily help design the board so much ashelp them with trends within the product family—thelongevity of the product and specific recommendations.Everyone can provide samples and training and pictures anddata sheets; the insight we offer is how the supplier is trend-ing or moving. That is one of the unique things we offer.

The value is the life-cycle-management side of things. Thelast thing engineers want to do is design a solution that twoyears from now they can’t produce.

Kevin Hess, vice president of technical marketing, Mouser Electronics

EET/EBN: Has your model changed at allover the past few years?

Kevin Hess: We are and always havebeen concentrating on the design engineer.We are going to play in the product con-cept phase all the way up to small andmedium production. Volume is not whatour model is set up to support. So whenyou talk about design registration to takeadvantage of production, since we don’tfocus on that, we don’t make a large effortto do the design registration. From con-cept to small production is what our spe-cialty is. We carry the appropriate level ofinventory to support that customer.

EET/EBN: So what are engineers look-ing for?

Hess: When you talk about focus on

the design community, what they are looking for is a sourceof information for a product, so they can get it on the board.The challenges are that time-to-market is cut down and theydon’t have a long turnaround time. Our approach is to givethem all information they need [so they can] source at onesite and be able to buy the product they need in whateverquantity they need.

We also notify the engineer if any part is not recommendedfor new design. We know the cost [to the customer] if thecomponent is not available for production. We make a hugeeffort to ensure the product’s life cycle is known and [the life-cycle information] is easy to find.

EET/EBN: Is that information supplied by vendors?Hess: We get it through different avenues. The supplier

gives us the information on the life cycle of the part. Theyunderstand the Mouser model. We are working to get theirparts designed in, and if there is a new part, we will let theengineer know whether it is a part recommended for newdesign. If not, we say, “Here is the alternative.” We are not justgiving information; we are giving the solution.

EET/EBN: How do you differentiate yourself?Hess: We actually have teams dedicated to creating product

microsites where you get a quick glance at the product andlinks to all the technical documentation. Engineers need tosee if [the part] will work with that design and at the sametime be able to buy everything. We promote the parts that wecarry in stock, as well as providing the information on allparametric data.

Also, our employees’ background is in engineering, so theythink as an engineer thinks.

EET/EBN: How do you balance the new design opportunitieswith not “bugging” the customer in a follow-up sales call?

Hess: You could look at it two different ways. You will haveinside sales and customer support that the engineer wants to

call up to take their order; they want technicalsupport and clarification for a spec sheet, andthey want one or two pieces and will be glad wehave it. Not everyone wants someone to callthem. We offer that … but when they call forquotes, we want to make sure we can get tothem, and if they do an RFQ we want to makesure they’ve got the information they need.

We focus on getting the newest products outin front of customers, so when they go to thesite they see what we have. We make it easy tosearch by drill-down or by part number, andwithin a click they are there.

Everything’s available to all customers.There’s no registration to place an order; theycan log in and take advantage of services. Wemake all products available in 16 languagesand 16 currencies.

EET/EBN: And pricing?

‘Our employees’background is inengineering; they

think as anengineer thinks’

— Kevin Hess



Hess: Our pricing philosophy[acknowledges] the reality of globalpricing; it is not just in U.S. dollars …Our strategy for regional pricing is to doit in the local currency. We will be com-petitive within that region.

That’s why we have offices globally.If you have an engineer who needs helpfixing a mistake, they want to deal withsomebody local. Let’s say they order apart that is incorrect. If you are only aWeb site in Singapore, there is nobodythere to help you. With our model, theycan call up and speak to a person in the[local] city, and resolve whatever prob-lems they have.

If they make a mistake, they don’twant to miss a deadline, so our job is toensure they meet their deadlines andthey meet the cost expectations on theirend. Time is of the essence when youtalk to design engineers. These days,they are being asked to do so muchmore—order their own parts, work on different types of boards—and theywant to work with a distributor that is there to help both with customerservice and [via] the Web site so theycan get the part.

EET/EBN: What do you think is pres-suring engineers the most?

Hess: The pressure continues to betime constraints. They face a reductionin the workforce and are asked to domore than they used to do. They don’thave time to research the different sites.They used to go to the manufacturer’ssite and look at the spec sheet; nowthey want to reduce the amount ofsources for inventory and information.They need to have one place to go to.And then there is fear of their jobsgoing overseas.

I think both buyers and engineers arefinding one or two sources that can sup-port the BOM [bill of materials]; theydon’t have to go back and forth, andthey can support 80 to 90 percent ofBOM in one shipment. They are notmaking three or four phone calls orworrying about standard package quan-tities and inventory costs; they orderand move on to next project.

Chris Beeson vice president ofsales and production business,Digi-Key Corp.

EET/EBN: You’ve had a portion of yourbusiness in volume for some timenow—how do you balance that modelagainst the catalog model?

Chris Beeson: The challenge for us is,we are becoming a hybrid, with theengineering catalog orientation and thedemand for production.

There have been catalogs for manyyears; that is a unique value proposi-tion, and that in itself is a viable busi-ness. In spite of our [catalog] alignment,the customer was starting to say, “Whydo you do this to me? Our engineers areworking with you, and you are carryingour BOM; we have print position, andthe baton is passing over to procure-ment. This is a challenge because I haveto research with a new distributor, andmany times that product isn’t evenavailable, or their offering isn’t thesame as yours.” We hear that voice, and[we hear] the suppliers who say, “Wework closely with you, and we careabout print position.’

EET/EBN: But you typically don’t par-ticipate in design registration programs,because of all the information you needfrom engineers, correct?

Beeson: [The process] still has com-plexities, but we would still continue thediscussions. On one hand, the estimated

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‘Our challenge withthe suppliers is

aligning our servicewith what the

customer desires’— Chris Beeson



annual usage or project name doesn’t add a lot of value to anengineer’s day. But the supplier wants to know whether thereis a market opportunity. Is there a way to communicate themarket opportunity without firing questions at the engineer?

What we are attempting to do is improve our analysis. Weare able to communicate back to the supplier a great deal ofdetail without having to go back and fill out the forms—without going back to the customer. Some suppliers arebecoming more accepting of that as a starting point. We arenot saying that it equates to a design win, but suppliers areappreciative of becoming aware of the opportunity.

EET/EBN: So what are your design assistance offerings?Beeson: We have added product training modules instead

of just listings. I can take a tutorial on a product and get up tospeed on that; I can look at a video, and I can have a Webcastwith a call center … One sales approach doesn’t displace theother; it provides more options.

EET/EBN: Still, you are balancing that with the volumebusiness.

Beeson: It depends on the customer. A tier 1 companycomes to us for a variety of reasons … maybe they have theirhead down and they need 50 components, and we are oneplace they can complete their task and not have in-depth dialogue related to it. Or sometimes it’s time-to-market, andthey are under great pressure.

The traditional e-commerce is more of a self-servicingtype of environment. We are the anomaly; very few cataloghouses are asking for more [information] required of a vol-ume business.

It’s a transaction. Whether you call it a design win or a cat-alog sale, it is a transaction.

EET/EBN: So are you expanding the volume business?Beeson: In our particular situation, over the last three years

we’ve been in constant dialogue on this topic. I’d say thatmore often than not, we have opted to open the door ratherthan close it.

It used to be we’d call on the engineer, and the procure-ment group would reward us with a PO. Now, with the evolu-tion of EMS and the ODM segment, a lot of engineering workis required, and you may have no means of connecting that toconsumption. So how does the distributor get paid for theirengineering services?

EET/EBN: How do you manage inventory balance whenyou are a catalog as well as a production house?

Beeson: It differs among suppliers. There are some that say,“You have an allotment for a catalog that is planting seeds fortomorrow,” and there are different opinions about that. Theywant to make sure they are seeding the market and thattomorrow is not their concern. We’ve had mixed results fromour supplier base.

We serve a different role than broadline distribution; wecould be closely tied to R&D and new product introduction,and could be the testing ground for technology to a broad

range of customers. That is a service that suppliers appreci-ate. It’s viewed differently than when they position them-selves with a broadline.

Our greatest challenge with the suppliers is positioningour service to be in line with what the customer desires,whether it’s catalog or production volumes.

Michael Knight, vice president of corporate product management, TTI Inc.

EET/EBN: How has your company changed in terms of deal-ing with higher demand for design services?

Michael Knight: The first thing we’ve done is to change theprofile of the salesperson we are recruiting. We are addingsalespeople, and we arelooking for more-technicalsalespeople, including[those] having an engineer-ing degree. The secondthing we started—we don’thave FAEs—is that we nowhave internal groups ofapplications engineeringthat are available ondemand. If the salespersonwants to, they can bring inone of these guys on thephone or on the Internet.It’s an on-demand FAE. It’snot 24/7 at this point, andthe demand has to be trig-gered by a salesperson. It’sabout managingresources.

EET/EBN: Do you see a shift in terms of where the designeris going for help?

Knight: There’s no obvious trend. The customer’s firstchoice is the manufacturer, and they may use a third party;but what I am finding is that distribution is still that lastplace. I think it is different for the semiconductor world; inIP&E things haven’t changed that much.

EET/EBN: When you do provide a high level of assistance,who “owns” the customer relationship?

Knight: There’s been an evolution. Suppliers need morehelp with [design support] because, obviously, distributorshave a growing direct connection with the customer. Whoever has that relationship has to get involved in thatdesign process.

It may not be ideal for the supplier, but sometimes theydon’t have a choice, given the cutback in their sales force.They are depending on distribution to introduce their prod-uct and introduce them to the applications engineers.

We are the gateway into a big customer base. More cus-tomers are using distributors, and that is at the behest of thesupplier. But we are long way from nirvana. p

‘More customersare using

distributors, atsuppliers’ behest’

— Michael Knight



Even within the catalog industry—a solid niche that has long been prof-itable for electronics distributors—companies must continue to evolve.Catalog distributors traditionally service design engineers who are looking for small quantities of compo-nents that can be shipped overnight.But as design engineers begin to makemore decisions about the long-termviability of a product, they need morecomponent information at both thefront and back ends of the design-to-production process.

Newark says it commits to engaging its customersat any level the customer wants. InNewark’s case, that means investingin software that is traditionallyfound in the CAD/CAM arena. EBNCommunity editor Barbara Jor-gensen spoke with Jeff Jussell, sen-ior director of technical marketingfor Newark’s parent company, Premier Farnell, about why andhow the catalog distributorincludes design and manufacturingsoftware among its offerings.

EET/EBN: What has prompted the move toward software andother tools?

Jeff Jussell: In the past, it has allbeen about access—fast access—

to the component. But looking at the bigger prob-lems the customers have today, doing a design is notjust selecting parts; it’s about tools on the hardwareand software side, dealing with all the other ele-ments in selecting suppliers and the design flow. Adesigner may use four to five tool providers for anydesign flow.

So it’s not just hardware or software; you have tobe good at all of these things, and we are bringing inexperts that go well beyond the components. Weasked, “Who is in the best place to help the engineermost?” Most of the software vendors have a tool or aset of tools in one area, but that’s not great for anentire workflow.

EET/EBN: This isn’t typically a distribution issue,though.

Jussell: We have a broad set of parts, a broad cus-tomer base, knowledge of solutions and a globalreach, so what we are doing is redefining the servic-es, from distributor to component provider to pro-viding both software and solutions.

Within these [processes], you may have as manyas five different tools—you haveyour pc board schematic and layoutprovider, and you may be dealingwith library creation; then theremight be a service or tool or simula-tion; and then a separate vendor forsignal integrity and design-for-man-ufacturing …

We see ourselves as the deliverymechanism [for these processes]. Wehave a multichannel approach—adirect sales channel that can reachcustomer, and a very strong Webpresence—and we have the tools.So we can use the Web to reachsome of those customers in a morelow-touch way.

EDA is more of a high-touch

There’s more than one way toreach the customerBy Barbara Jorgensen

Newark’s multichannel approach nowincludes CAD tools

‘We are trying to “democratize”

the electronicsdesign process’



space. The Intels and the IBMs—the big companies of theworld—can afford that, but a lot of our customers don’t haveor don’t need multimillion dollars’ worth of software. We aretrying to “democratize” the electronics design process; we canbring those tools to [customers] using our infrastructure, andthey can buy one copy [of the tool].

One example is the CADSoft PCB tool; it ties throughDesignLink into the parts selection and BOM creation, andties that into assembly and manufacture. Users can create acomplete flow, from design to production.

CADSoft Eagle is a very flexible, easy-to-use CAD tool forschematic design and board layout; it is very good in terms ofits price/performance ratio. You get a lot of flexibility [withit], and it fits well with our customer base.

That is how we can deliver [one] part of the flow. The otherpart is the schematic and symbols and library elements. Aswe get new products, we can develop CAD libraries, tying it

all together.Outdated libraries are still a big problem. One advantage of

our library tool is its translation capability; we can createsymbols for any CAD tool in the market.

EET/EBN: How long have you been offering this?Jussell: We are still on the on-ramp. We have seen a good

takeoff of the Eagle product now that people are finding outwe have it.

We also have plans to extend into other areas; PCB hard-ware is one. We also have solutions for embedded softwareand FPGA design; a lot of our customers fall into that space,and they don’t have big CAD support teams but still want touse best-in-class products.

We feel distribution is the right place [for such solutions].We can pull in the best products and integrate them into acomplete workflow. p



Top 25 Globa l F ranch ised Dis t r ibuto rs

Ranked by total 2010 calendar year revenue, except where stated, $ in millions

2010 2009 2010 total 2009 total % change 2010 North 2010 Asia/ 2010 Europe/ Broadline (b) Public orRank Rank Company global global from America Japan Mideast/ROW specialized (s) private

revenue revenue 2009 revenue revenue revenue catalog (c)

1 1 Avnet 22,920.00 16,656.00 37.6 9,964.00 5,819.00 7.137.00 b pu

2 2 Arrow Electronics 18,744.68 14,684.10 27.7 9,111.56 3,999.61 5,633.51 b pu

3 3 WPG Holdings # 12,087.00 9,608.00 25.8 N/A 7,997.00 N/A b pu

4 4 Future Electronics (1) 4,520.00 3,453.00 30.9 NA NA NA b pr

5 8 Electrocomponents plc * 1,700.00 1,550.00 9.7 400 ** N/A N/A b/c pu

6 7 Premier Farnell*, (2) 1,526.00 1,265 20.6 NA NA NA b/c pu

7 9 Digi-Key 1,519.00 926.9 63.9 1,026.40 235.4 481.9 b/c pr

8 N/A TTI *** 1,400.00 1,015.00 37.9 NA NA NA s/c pr

9 10 Nu Horizons ## 707 641 10.3 380 253 74 s pu

10 12 DAC Group 533.5 387.5 37.7 N/A N/A N/A s pr

11 N/A Mouser Electronics *** 498 285 74.7 338.6 74.7 84.7 b/c pu

12 13 Excelpoint 496.4 356.9 39.1 N/A 496.4 NA b pu

13 N/A Carlton-Bates (3) 338.6 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A s pu

14 19 Dependable Component

Supply Corp (1) # 303 218.16 38.9 N/A N/A N/A b pr

15 15 Sager (1) 205 188.2 8.9 205 N/A N/A s pr

16 17 PEI-Genesis 194 145.2 33.6 N/A N/A N/A s pu

17 11 Richardson Electronics, Ltd

(fiscal year sales), (1, 4) 156.14 491.85 -68.3 N/A N/A N/A s pu

18 20 Master Distributors 147.4 107.7 36.9 129.71 10.32 7.37 b pr

19 22 Electro Sonic Inc. (1) 124.5 89.4 39.3 N/A N/A N/A b pr

20 21 Powell (1) 100 90.3 10.7 80 N/A N/A s pr

21 24 Bisco 97 79.5 22.0 N/A N/A N/A b pr

22 23 Flame Enterprises 91 82 11.0 78.5 N/A 12.5 s pr

23 25 RS Electronics 54.9 46 19.3 54.9 NA NA b pr

24 N/A Hughes Peters 48 39 23.1 48 N/A N/A b pr

25 N/A Hammond 39.5 37.9 4.2 39.5 NA NA s pr

TOTALS 68550.62 52443.61 30.7

* Products include: semiconductors (s), passives (p), interconnect (i), electromechanical (e), batteries/power supplies (b), computer systems and peripherals (cs),other (o). Where provided percentages refer to percent of total revenue**Services include: contract manufacturing (cm), logistics, (l), bill of materials management (bom), kitting and subassembly (k), design services (d), systems inte-gration (si), vendor managed inventory services (vmi), testing (t), packaging (pk), programming (p), environmental, (as) Asic design(1) EE Times estimate(2) Premier Farnell includes Newark and Element 14 in North America(3) Division of Wesco Distribution Inc.(4) Richardson Electronics' RFPD unit (its biggest division, with $350M in fiscal sales) has been acquired by Arrow Electronics* Fiscal year sales


Headquarters Web site Products* Services**

Phoenix http://avnet.com/ s, p,e, i, cs l, bom, k, d, si, vmi, t, p, pk, g, o, as

Melville, N.Y. www.arrow.com s,p, i, e, cs l, bom, k, si, ds, vmi, t, p, pk, g, o

Taipei, Taiwan www.wpgholdings.com s l, d, vmi, t, p, g, o, bom

Montreal www.future.com s, p, i, e l, bom, k, d, vmi, t, p, g, o

London www.electrocomponents.com/www.aliedelec.com s, p, i, e, b, cs, o cm, l, bom, k, si, d, vmi, t, p, g

London www.premierfarnell.com, www.newark.com s, p, i, e bom, k, d, p, t, vmi

Thief River Falls, Minnesota www.digikey.com s, p, i, e, b, o l, bom, k, d, vmi, p, o

Fort Worth / Mansfield, Texas www.ttiinc.com p, i, e bom, l, vmi, g, o

Melville, N.Y. www.nuhorizons.com s, p l, k, d, vmi, p

Wilmington, Mass. www.heilind.com, www.dbroberts.com I, e k, vmi, o

Mansfield, Texas www.mouser.com s, p,I,e, b, o cm, bom, k, pk

Singapore www.excelpoint.com s, p cm, l, bom, k, si, d, vmi, t, p

Little Rock, Ark. www.carlton-bates.com p, e, I, o bom, k, d, vmi, t

Deerfield Beach, Fla. www.dependonus.com s, p, I, e, cs bom, k, vmi, t, p

Middleborough, Mass. www.sager.com NA NA

Philadelphia www.peigenesis.com I, e, b bom, k, d, vmi, t

LaFox, Ill. www.rell.com NA NA

Santa Monica, Calif www.masterdistributors.com s, p, i, e, b, cs, o cm, l, bom, k, vmi, t

Toronto www.e-sonic.com s, p, I, e, b bom, k, d, o

Philadelphia www.powell.com i, e l, bom, k, d, vmi

Anaheim, Calif. www.biscoind.com s, p, i, e, b, cs l, bom, k, cs, si, d, vmi, o

Chatsworth, Calif. www.flamecorp.com e, i d, k

Livonia, Mich. www.rselectronics.com s, p, i, e, b, cs, o k, si, d

Dayton, OhioH www.hughespeters.com b, s, p, I, e bom, k, cm

Orlando, Fla. www.hammondelec.com p, I, e, b bom, k, vmi, si, t,

** North American sales are based on figures at at U.S. subsidiary Allied Electronics Inc.*** 2010 ranking not availabl, because EE Times now reports sales separately for TTI and Mouser# Revenues revised for 2009 ## Acquired by Arrow Electronics effective Jan. 3, 2011NA = not applicable or not availableThe ranking excludes companies that did not respond to EE Times survey requests and for which EE Times was not able to provide estimates.

Source: Company reports and EE Times

Avnet has two primaryoperating groups:

Electronics Marketingand Technology

Solutions

that help customers evaluate, design-inand procure electronic componentsthroughout the life cycle of theirtechnology products and systems. Byworking with EM from the design phasethrough new product introduction andthroughout the product life cycle,customers and suppliers can acceleratetheir time-to-market and realize costefficiencies in both the design andmanufacturing process.

TS markets and sells midrange tohigh-end servers, data storage products,software and the services required toimplement these solutions to the VARchannel. TS also focuses on theworldwide OEM market for computingtechnology, system integrators and non-PC OEMs that require embeddedsystems and solutions, includingengineering, product prototyping,integration and other value-addedservices. As a global solutionsdistributor, TS collaborates with itscustomers and suppliers to create anddeliver effective solutions that addressthe business challenges of their end-usercustomers locally and around the world.

1 Avnet www.avnet.com

Chairman and CEO: Roy Vallee

2010 revenue: $22.9 billion

AVNET IS ONE of the world’s largestindustrial distributors of electroniccomponents, enterprise computer andstorage products, and embeddedsubsystems. It enables a link in thetechnology supply chain that connectsmore than 300 of the world’s leadingelectronic component and computerproduct manufacturers and softwaredevelopers with a global customer baseof more than 100,000 OEMs, EMSproviders, ODMs and value-addedresellers. Avnet distributes electroniccomponents, computer products andsoftware as received from its suppliersor with assembly or other value addedby Avnet. Additionally, it providesengineering design, materialsmanagement and logistics services,system integration and configuration,and supply chain services that can becustomized to meet the requirements ofboth customers and suppliers.

Avnet has two primary operatinggroups: Electronics Marketing (EM) andTechnology Solutions (TS). EM marketsand sells semiconductors; interconnect,passive and electromechanical (IP&E)devices; and embedded products. Itservices a diverse customer base servingend markets including automotive,communications, computer hardwareand peripherals, industrial andmanufacturing, medical equipment,and military and aerospace. EM alsooffers an array of value-added services



defense products, scientific and medicalsolutions, and computer and officeproducts. Customers also include value-added resellers of enterprisecomputing solutions.

The company serves customers inmore than 80 countries through morethan 200 sales facilities and 30distribution and value-added centers,spread among 52 countries. Throughthis network, Arrow provides one of thebroadest product offerings in theelectronic components and enterprisecomputing solutions distributionindustries, along with value-addedservices to help customers reduce theirtime-to-market, introduce innovativeproducts through demand creationopportunities, lower their total cost ofownership and enhance their overallcompetitiveness.

The company has two businesssegments: global components and globalenterprise computing solutions. Arrowdistributes electronic components toOEMs and CMs through its globalcomponents business segment andprovides enterprise computingsolutions to VARs through its globalECS business segment. For 2010,approximately 70 percent of thecompany’s sales were from the globalcomponents business segment and theremainder from the global ECS segment.

Over the past three years, Arrow’scomponents business segment hascompleted a number of acquisitions,including the components distributionbusinesses of Hynetic Electronics andShreyanics Electronics in India, ACIElectronics, Achieva, Excel Tech, A.E.Petsche, Verical, PCG Parent, TransimTech, Eshel Technology and INTHoldings.

The company has twobusiness segments:

global components andglobal enterprise

computing solutions

2 Arrow www.arrow.com

President, chairman and CEO:Michael J. Long


ARROW ELECTRONICS is a globalprovider of electronic component andenterprise computing products, servicesand solutions. The company believes itis a leader in the electronics distributionindustry in operating systems,employee productivity, value-addedprograms and total quality assurance.

Arrow serves more than 1,200suppliers and 115,000 OEMs, contractmanufacturers and commercialcustomers. The company offers aspectrum of products, services andsolutions, including materials planning,design services, programming andassembly services, inventorymanagement and online supply chaintools. Customers include manufacturersof consumer and industrial equipment(including machine tools, factoryautomation and robotic equipment),telecom products, automotive andtransportation goods, aerospace and



270 worldwide semiconductor brands. Ithas more than 5,900 employees in 40sales offices around Greater China andthe Asia-Pacific region.

Bloomberg Businessweek ranked WPGHoldings 11th, chosen from among6,500 technology companies, in its 12thAnnual Tech 100 List.

To serve the changing needs of itscustomers, WPG Holdings has evolvedits operations from initially servingChina-based manufacturers to includeOEMs and electronics manufacturingservice providers in Japan and India. Ithas also more recently begun expandingoperations in the Americas, especially inNorth America.

3 WPG Holdings www.wpgholdings.comChairman and president: Simon Huang


WPG HOLDINGS is Asia’s No. 1electronics components distributor. Thecompany was founded in November2005 and is publicly traded on theTaiwan Stock Exchange. WPG Holdingsoperates through six semiconductordistributors in Asia, including WPIgroup, SAC group, RichPower group,Pernas group, AIT group and Yosungroup. The company serves as afranchise partner for more than



The company satisfiesthe small-quantityproduct needs of

electronics andmaintenance engineers

5 Electro-components www.electrocomponents.com,www.aliedelec.com

Group CEO: Ian Mason


ELECTROCOMPONENTS is a leadinghigh-service distributor to engineersworldwide. The group operates in 27countries, distributing componentsunder the trading brands RS,Radiospares, Radionics and AlliedElectronics. Through its distributornetwork, Electrocomponents alsoservices a further 38 countries and coversaround 90 percent of the world’s GDP.

The company satisfies the small-quantity product needs of customerswho are typically electronics ormaintenance engineers. A large numberof high-quality goods are stocked forshipment on the same day the order isreceived. The average customer ordervalue for Electrocomponents’ customersis around $170. The group manages tensof thousands of orders for customersacross the world each working day.

Electrocomponents’ businesses arefocused on strengthening theirpositions in Europe, North America andAsia-Pacific—which collectively

4 FutureElectronicswww.futureelectronics.comPresident and CEO: Robert Miller


FUTURE ELECTRONICS is a globalleader offering innovative services inthe distribution and marketing ofelectronic components. The companyhas been serving the electronicsindustry for more than 40 years and isuniquely positioned to supportcustomers of all sizes worldwide.Headquartered in Montreal, Futureoperates in 169 locations in 42 countriesin the Americas, Europe and Asia. It hasbuilt on a deep database of productinformation.

The company serves the industrythrough various divisions, includingFuture Lighting Solutions and FutureEnergy Solutions, and offers a range ofengineering and supply chain solutions.

Future Lighting Solutions is theleading provider of LED lightingcomponents and solution support forlighting designers and OEMs interestedin leveraging solid-state lightingtechnology. The unit offers LED lightingknowledge, resources, programs,partners, solutions and logistics support.

Future Energy Solutions providescomponents, engineering solutions andsystem solutions vital to companies inthe energy sector. The drive for FutureElectronics’ involvement in the energysolutions business is the global need toreduce carbon emissions and becomemore energy efficient. Future EnergySolutions applies Future Electronics’engineering knowledge, logistics,supply chain expertise and financialstrength toward achieving those goals.



represents 65 percent of the group’srevenue—while maintaining aprofitable U.K. business. The companyhas reorganized its Europe and Asia-Pacific operations to implement astrategy of faster, improvedperformance. A more consistent,streamlined, cross-regional approachhas been introduced.

In keeping with the group’s strategy,resources have been reallocated fromsales to marketing and from offline toonline activities. In North America,Electrocomponents’ Allied Electronicsdivision has increased e-commercerevenue by nearly 45 percent andcontinues to exploit both its extensivelocal sales office presence and supplierrelationships to drive sales.



7 Digi-Key www.digikey.comPresident: Mark Larson


DIGI-KEY IS ONE of the fastest-growing component distributors in theworld. The company offers off-the-shelfdelivery on hundreds of thousands ofelectronic components and relatedaccessories. Industry surveysconsistently show Digi-Key as a leader inbreadth of products offered and productavailability. For the past 18 years, Digi-Key has been a top-rated electroniccomponent distributor in the UnitedStates for overall performance, based onindustry surveys in which customersrate distributors on factors such asavailability of product, speed of service,response to problems and pricing.

The company has no outside salesforce; serves an international marketfrom a single, geographicallycentralized location; and is committedto a “fill rate” of more than 95 percent,compared with an industry average of50 percent or lower.

Digi-Key provides same-dayshipment on orders entered by 8:00 p.m.Central Time, and its marketingprogram is among the largest and mostcomprehensive in the industry. Thecompany’s Web site, launched in 1995,offers complete online commercecapabilities, along with 24/7 instantaccess to a broad-based, multimillion-dollar product inventory.

A state-of-the-art order fulfillmentsystem enables Digi-Key to processorders in as little as 15 minutes. Thecompany processes hundreds ofthousands of Internet orders forcustomers around the world each year.

6 Premier Farnellwww.premierfarnell.com CEO: Harriet Green


PREMIER FARNELL is a leadingmultichannel, high-service distributorsupporting millions of engineers andpurchasing professionals globally.Premier Farnell markets and distributesa comprehensive range of products andservices throughout Europe, NorthAmerica and the Asia-Pacific. It hasoperations in 32 countries and tradesin more than 100. The company’sroughly 4,100 employees worldwideserve a global customer base of morethan 2 million customer contacts.

The group stocks more than 400,000electronic products, has access to 4million more and represents 3,500manufacturer brands. Its multichannelapproach includes fully transactionalWeb sites, contact centers, a field salesforce, trade counters, a branch network,catalogs and direct mail. Companieswithin the Premier Farnell Groupinclude Farnell, Newark, CPC,Element14, Farnell-Newark, MCM andAkron Brass.

Premier Farnell purchases productsin large volumes and distributes them in small quantities to customers,including electronic design engineers;maintenance, repair and operationsengineers; and purchasing professionals.

By delivering products the same dayor the next day, offering a rich onlinecustomer experience, distributingsupporting product information andproviding software and services thatare desirable to customers, the companyis able to extract significant value for its service.



9 Nu HorizonsElectronicswww.nuhorizons.comPresident: Martin Kent

2010 revenue: $707 million

NU HORIZONS IS a leading globaldistributor of advanced technologysemiconductor, display, illumination,power, system and telecommunicationssolutions to commercial OEMs andelectronics manufacturing serviceproviders. With sales facilities in 54locations across North America, Europeand Asia, and with regional logisticscenters throughout the globe, NuHorizons partners with best-in-classsuppliers to provide in-depth productdevelopment, custom logistics and life-cycle support to its customers.

The company’s business unitsinclude NIC Components, a designer,manufacturer and worldwide supplierof passive components. NIC sells bothdirectly and through leadingdistributors in more than 50 countries,with stocking facilities in Asia, Europe,Mexico and the United States. NIC is“designed in” as a qualified source ofpassive components by more than10,000 OEMs.

Another unit, Titan EMS, focusesexclusively on providing advancedtechnology semiconductor, display,illumination, power and systemssolutions to contract manufacturersaround the world.

Nu Horizons is now a wholly ownedbusiness division of Arrow Electronics.

8 TTI Inc.www.ttiinc.comCEO: Paul Andrews, Jr.


TTI THIS YEAR IS celebrating its 40th anniversary as the world’s leadingauthorized distributor specialist offeringpassive, connector, electromechanicaland discrete components. Its extensiveproduct line and supply chain solutionshave made TTI the distributor of choicefor industrial, military, aerospace andconsumer electronics manufacturersworldwide.

TTI’s product line includes resistors,capacitors, connectors, discretes,potentiometers, trimmers, magneticand circuit protection components, wireand cable, wire management,identification products, applicationtools, and electromechanical devices.The products are distributed from abroad line of manufacturers.

TTI strives to be the industry’spreferred information source byoffering the latest IP&E technology andmarket information through the onlineMarketEye Research Center. MarketEyeoffers articles, technical seminars, RoHS support, seminars and industryresearch reports.

The company’s products, personal-ized service and custom supply chainsolutions have earned TTI the mostpreferred passives distributor title byindustry publications. TTI employsmore than 1,500 people at more than 50 locations throughout North America,Europe and Asia. It became a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group ofcompanies following its acquisition inMarch 2007.



11 MouserElectronicswww.mouser.comPresident and CEO: Glenn Smith


MOUSER ELECTRONICS, a whollyowned subsidiary of BerkshireHathaway Inc., is one of the industry’sfastest-growing global catalog andonline semiconductor and electroniccomponent distributors. Mouser isdedicated to supplying design engineerswith the newest products and leading-edge technologies, combined withexcellent customer service andworldwide support.

The Mouser Web site is updated daily,with products from more than 400industry-leading manufacturersrepresented online. The companysearches nearly 7 million products tolocate more than 1.8 million partnumbers that are available for easyonline purchase. On the site, customerswill find more than 5 milliondownloadable data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, applicationnotes, technical design information andengineering tools. The site offers 16language choices and accepts 16international currencies.

Mouser.com adds products daily andclearly identifies which parts are notrecommended for new design (NRND)or are obsolete. It also features user-friendly tools, such as Project Manager,with automatic reorder, BOM importcapabilities, automatic orderconfirmation, Mouser search acceleratorand other timesaving features.

10 DAC Groupwww.dac-group.com,www.heilind.com,www.dbroberts.com

President: Robert W. Clapp

2010 revenue: $533 .5 million

THE DAC GROUP has developed into anationwide network of branchescovering the United States throughseveral strategic acquisitions, the largestof which are Force Electronics, acquiredin 1986, and Gateway Megatech,acquired in 1998. Operations coveringMexico and Canada were added later,allowing for complete coveragethroughout North America.

The DAC Group’s operating divisionsinclude Heilind Electronics, founded byRobert Clapp in 1974. Clapp believesstrongly in the value of specialization;with that principle in mind, and tosharpen the company’s focus, the DACGroup was divided into two divisions—the original Heilind and the new DBRoberts—creating one organization forhardware and the other for interconnectcomponents.

DB Roberts is a recognized leader infastener distribution. It is focused onproviding solutions for fastenerapplications in sheet metal fabrication,metalworking and industrialelectronics.



Excelpoint began as anelectronics distributor in

1987 and is one ofSingapore’s top 100

enterprises

13 Carlton-Bateswww.carlton-bates.comGroup vice president and general manager:

Todd Farnsworth

2010 revenue: $338.6 million

Carlton-Bates has served the industrialmarket for more than 50 years withspecialized services and solutions and is a leading distributor of automationcontrols and advanced electronic/electromechanical solutions. As amember of the Wesco family ofcompanies, Carlton-Bates servescustomers in all 50 states and Mexico.

In every aspect of its business,Carlton-Bates strives to meet customers’changing needs by providing next-generation solutions. The companyleverages its dedicated assemblyfacilities in the United States andMexico to help customers streamlinetheir supply chain, and it providesoutsourced manufacturing services for partners, saving them time, moneyand resources.

In addition to local consultativesupport, Carlton-Bates offers a broadinventory of product solutions frommore than 360 authorizedmanufacturers. It services a broadspectrum of end markets with an arrayof products such as sensors, switches,relays, circuit breakers, contactors, wireand cable management products, power supplies, terminal blocks andconnectors.

12 Excelpoint Technologywww.excelpoint.com

Chairman and group CEO: Albert Phuay Yong Hen


EXCELPOINT TECHNOLOGY LTD. is atotal solutions provider of qualitycomponents, engineering designs andsupply chain services for electronicsmanufacturers in Asia, includingOEMs, ODMs and EMS providers.Headquartered in Singapore, Excelpointbegan as a distributor of electroniccomponents in 1987 and is one ofSingapore’s top 100 enterprises, withfacilities and offices in more than 25cities across the Asia-Pacific region.

The companies under Excelpointwork closely with its principals andelectronics manufacturers to identifynew trends and technologies and tocreate and test new technical featuresthat will complement customers’products. Excelpoint has three R&Dcenters in Asia, creating solutions thatcan be found in industrialinstrumentation, wirelesscommunications and consumerelectronics equipment.



Dependable’s mission-critical applications are

hosted on the IBMSystem i-Framework

14DependableComponentSupplywww.dependonus.comPresident: Shawn Ryan


DEPENDABLE COMPONENT SUPPLYis an approved source of supply to manyof the largest OEMs and EMS providersin the world. The company has forgedlong-term strategic partnerships withcustomers of all sizes. It is an authorizeddistributor for a wide range ofcomponent manufacturers, includingcompanies in the interconnect, passivesand electromechanical area.

Dependable strives to meet all of itscustomers’ environmental needs. As afranchised distributor of some of themost highly sophisticated components,it scrutinizes all suppliers and products.The company’s technologyinfrastructure is based on the latestvirtual server technologies (VMware),and its mission-critical applications arehosted on the IBM System i-Framework.Dependable maintains a network with afull breadth of technologies, includingsecure local area networks, wide areanetworks, virtual private networkingand wireless technology.

Dependable’s assurance procedures,together with a continuousimprovement program, ensure that allshipments are delivered on time andwith the greatest accuracy. Thecompany’s procurement staff is focusedon cultivating strong supplierrelationships as well as making suresuppliers meet all of its customers’quality compliance needs.



16 PEI-Genesiswww.peigenesis.com

CEO: Russel Dorwart


PEI-GENESIS IS a manufacturer,assembling distributor and engineeringdesign firm for connectors and powersupplies. The company is the fastest andlargest automated assembler ofconnectors from ITT Cannon,Amphenol/Cinch and LEMO in theworld. Its production capabilities meetand exceed the highest military andindustrial standards for consistentquality, inspection, marking andpackaging.

PEI-Genesis’ factories are approved bythe U.S. Department of Defense. Its U.S.operation, ITAR, is registered with theState Department. The company’s U.K.facility is registered with theDepartment of Business, Enterprise andRegulatory Reform.

PEI is ISO 9001-2008 certifiedworldwide. PEI-Genesis is the largestITT Cannon connector distributor inthe world. It is also the largestAmphenol Industrial distributor in theworld and has won an AmphenolShining Star Award four years in a rowfor fastest global growth.

15 SagerElectronics www.sager.com

CEO: Raymond P. Norton 111


HEADQUARTERED IN Middleborough,Mass., Sager Electronics is one of theindustry’s leading privately held,employee-owned electronics com-ponents distributors. Grounded in acentury-long tradition of innovationand service, the company’s“Distributing Confidence” businessmodel goes beyond fulfillment toprovide customers and suppliers acombination of operational excellenceand innovative business solutions thatenable them to get their products tomarket faster, easier and better.

Sager Electronics began in 1887 as asingle storefront in downtown Bostonthat serviced the growing interest inradio technology. Sager now services itsgrowing customer base via headquartersin Middleborough, a national networkof field account representatives andstrategically located service centers.

The company’s state-of-the-artdistribution center is located inMiddleborough, and Sager hasexpanded its distribution capabilitieswith logistic centers in Irvine, Calif.;El Paso and Laredo, Texas; and OshKosh, Wis.



The company servicesalmost 10,000 active

customers.

17 RichardsonElectronicswww.rell.comChairman, COO and CEO:Edward J. Richardson


RICHARDSON ELECTRONICSdistributes and manufactures high-power, high-frequency electroniccomponents and subassemblies fordiverse markets, includingsemiconductor equipment, laser,medical, marine, avionics, microwaveand RF industrial heating, radio and TVbroadcasting, radar, andcommunications. RichardsonElectronics services almost 10,000 activecustomers in both OEM and end-user(MRO) markets, which leverage thecompany’s engineering andmanufacturing expertise; deepknowledge of high-power, high-frequency applications; and strongpartner relationships.

Richardson represents manufacturersof electron tubes and semiconductormanufacturing equipment used inindustrial power applications. Amongthe suppliers it supports are Amperex,CPI, Draloric, Eimac, General Electric,Hitachi, Jennings, Litton, L3, National,NJRC and Thales.

The company has sold a major part ofits operation to Arrow Electronics.



In addition to distributionservices, Master offerstechnical services and

other value-addedprograms

19 Electro Sonicwww.e-sonic.comPresident: Eric J. Taylor


ELECTRO SONIC IS one of Canada’sleading full-service electronics andelectrical component distributors. Thecompany has been building partner-ships with Canadian businesses formore than 58 years.

Electro Sonic specializes indeveloping customized programs andservices to suit its OEM and MROcustomers’ needs. The company’scommitment is to stock a completerange of components from the morethan 180 world-class manufacturers itrepresents. Its warehouse facilities aredesigned to handle more than 650,000shipments annually. Its catalog,published regularly since 1955, providescustomers with comprehensivetechnical, schematic and pricinginformation in an easy-to-use format.

“Flexibility is the heart of ourapproach to customer requirements,”Eric Taylor, president of Electro Sonic,says in a statement on the company’sWeb site. “Our centralized U.S. LogisticsCenter [and] branch offices allowElectro Sonic to support our customerswith a team of dedicated people ready to exceed expectations in both serviceand quality.

“Simply put, we listen, and then weput our years of experience intoproducing customized electronic supplysolutions for our customers.”

18 MasterDistributorswww.masterdistributors.comPresident and CEO: Ike Nizam


MASTER DISTRIBUTORS IS focusedon the passives, power solutions andpower conversion markets. Thecompany is a specialist in theinterconnect, passives andelectromechanical sector, servingcustomers from six locations, includingLos Angeles; Kirkland, Wash.; Phoenix;and Louisville, Ky. It has been servingthe electronics industry for more than40 years.

In addition to distribution services,Master Distributors offers technicalservices and other value-addedprograms. Its product lineup includesrelays, switches, fuses, timers,connectors, transformers and resistors.Master Distributors has more than300,000 part numbers in stock andoperates a 375,000-square-footwarehouse.



a global reach, representing the mostrespected manufacturers. It employs astaff of more than 200 people at 11 U.S.locations and uses state-of-the-arttechnology.

Powell supplies all industries,especially companies servicing keymarket sectors, including military/aerospace, telecommunications,transportation, medical imaging andinstrumentation, and the U.S.government. Still a family-ownedcompany, Powell Electronics continuesto be guided by its founding principlesof honesty, integrity, ethical dealingsand a sense of urgency for meetingcustomers’ needs.

Founded in 1946 by aformer Navy technician,Powell remains a family-

owned company

20 PowellElectronicswww.powell.comPresident: Ernest Schilling


POWELL ELECTRONICS’ AREAS offocus and expertise include electronicconnectors, switches, sensors andrelated electromechanical products. For close to 60 years, the company hasbrought a sense of purpose and vision toelectronics distribution.

The company was founded in 1946 byHarold H. Powell, a Navy electronicstechnician during World War II whostarted selling components from hisgarage after the war in response to theburgeoning postwar demand forelectronic parts. Today, PowellElectronics is a national company with



providing exceptional service andoffering one-stop-shopping.

Since 1973, the name Bisco Industrieshas been synonymous with qualityparts and service. Carrying over 230product lines, Bisco is a one-stop shopthat supports each customer withtrained sales professionals,knowledgeable in a specific category,who are able to quote, give feedback orreference an alternative item withinfour hours. Product managersconstantly analyze Bisco stocks andusage trends to ensure that thecompany has the parts that customersneed in stock, shortening lead times andimproving costs.

Bisco employs more than 300 people.Its 38 locations are strategically locatedthroughout the United States andCanada to offer local service and toensure fast delivery and availability tocustomers.

Bisco has 38 locationsin the United States and

Canada to ensureavailability to customers

21 Bisco Industrieswww.biscoind.comCEO: Glen Ceiley


BISCO INDUSTRIES IS a premierdistributor of electronic componentsand fasteners used in the aerospace,communications, computer, fabrication,industrial equipment, instrumentation,marine and military industries. Thecompany strives to be its customers'sole supplier of electronic componentsand fasteners by being a local presence,



The company expects toremain focused onelectromechnical

with suppliers and an in-depthunderstanding of the products thosecompanies manufacture. Flame’scustomers not only get access to theproducts they need, but also receive thecustomer service that comes with thesales staff’s many years of industry-specific experience.

Although Flame continues to up-date its product line to meet thegrowing demands of the industry, thecompany expects to remain focused on electromechanical products,specializing in relays, relay sockets,circuit breakers, switches andindicators.

22 FlameEnterprises www.flamecorp.comPresident and CEO: Michael Epstein


FLAME ENTERPRISES was estab-lished in 1969 on the philosophy ofcreating a ready inventory ofelectromechanical items for militaryand aerospace customers who wereburdened by the long factory lead timesfor those products. The company’sapproach to inventory managementprovides customers immediate access to products, removing the uncertaintythat comes with manufacturers’ leadtimes and allowing customers tocomplete their projects on time.

Flame’s key purchasing managementteam has an average of 30 years ofexperience in the industry, translatinginto excellent long-term relationships



Hughes Peterswww.hughespeters.comCEO: Todd R. Peters


HUGHES PETERS INC. is an ISO 9001-certified Midwestern regionaldistributor of interconnect, passive andelectromechanical products. Head-quartered in southern Ohio and servingthe surrounding states, the companyhas been the fastest-growing regionaldistributor in the Midwest market since 2000.

Value-added services offered by the company include inventorymanagement, bill-of-materials kitting,cable assembly and wire marking, cableharnesses, jumper wires, solderlessterminals and complete wire hookup.Hughes Peters is an authorizeddistributor for TE Electronics.

24



RS Electronics CEO: Winston Stalcup


www.rselectronics.com

RS ELECTRONICS IS a wholesaledistributor of electronic components,test and measurement instruments, andcustomized purchasing and inventorymanagement services. Founded in 1929,RS is an award-winning company andone of the top-ranked companies in theelectronics industry. Customers includemany of the world’s largest commercialand industrial businesses, educationalinstitutions, and government agencies.

With sales offices in nine states, RSElectronics has customers throughoutthe United States, Canada and Mexico.The company has 110 employees.

23 Value-added servicesinclude inventory

management, kitting,cable assembly and

wire marking, andsolderless terminals



HammondElectronicsCEO: John Hammond


www.hammondelec.com

HAMMOND ELECTRONICS IS abroadline distributor of electroniccomponents, including connectors, wire and cable, capacitors, resistors, test equipment, digital oscilloscopes,relays and switches. The company’s deep inventory of productionequipment—including soldering anddesoldering stations; static control; ESD-safe workbenches and bench lighting;and solder, flux and cleaningchemicals—supplements Hammond’sbroad offering.

Hammond Electronics markets itsproduct lines through six branchlocations throughout the Southeast aswell as globally via the company’s Website. Hammond supplies material toOEMs, commercial users, militaryestablishments, government agenciesand a diverse group of industries forelectronic maintenance and repair needs.The company’s assembly solutionsbusiness operates a state-of-the-artproduction facility in Orlando, Fla.

Hammond Assembly Solutions offersa full range of electronic assemblyservices, including wire and cableassemblies, ribbon cable assemblies,component modification andelectromechanical assembly. Thoseproducts are marketed through both theHammond and EMSCO sales divisions.

25 METHODOLOGYThe EE Times Top Distribution surveyis conducted annually betweenMarch and April for publicationonline and in print. The listing rankselectronic components distributorsby calendar year sales unless whenunavailable, in which case fiscal yearsales are used. The data is collectedvia questionnaire e-mailed toprivate and public companiesworldwide. The information providedis matched against public recordsand, where this is not available,companies are requested to providea signed letter confirming thenumbers. EE Times providesestimates for companies that didnot fill the questions or whichdeclined to offer letters confirmingsales figures. Companies whosenumbers cannot be independentlyverified are not ranked. Toparticipate, please e-mail Bolaji Ojoat [email protected].

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TOP 25: GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS