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Sourcing ELECTRONICS
realisation is going virtual
Product
Component Chooser uses data normalisation and list checking to identify comparable devices and populate parts lists
In the race to be first-to-market, high-tech design is going virtual, with products taking shape on the web long
before physical prototypes appear. So how can suppliers support this process?
Being early tomarket is a vital differentiator, particularly in sectors where product features and performance are broadly similar and price competition is intense. Fast, efficient product realisation can deliver that important head start and help control development costs.
At the same time, the processes involved in designing and
producing a product are becomingmore complex, driven by increasing technical demands and ever-higher compliance criteria.
Responding to these conflicting pressures, high-tech design is
going virtual. Increasingly, advanced products are taking shape on theweb, transforming into a physical object late in the process as the completed streams of information converge. Today’s component suppliers, having alreadymoved frompure distribution to a technical partnership role,must nowadapt by configuring on- line facilities supporting this virtual approach to product realisation.
RS Components is addressing these
challenges, helping engineers and buyers find, design and buy the right products to achieve their end-product. To address the newdesign paradigm, it has added a new package of tools and services centred on the internet to help customers identify suitable components quickly, access design resources at lowor no cost and simplify the purchasewith accountmanagement facilities that tie closely to their internal processes and procedures.
Find
Internet-based resources can simplify traditionally time-consuming processes such as collecting information, comparing data presented in different formats by competingmanufacturers and making buying decisions. DesignSpark’s Component Chooser utility achieves this by embedding specialist data normalisation, cleansing and list checking expertise to help identify comparable devices and populate parts lists quickly and accurately. Over sevenmillion component attributes are normalised, enhancing access to data and facilitatingmeaningful parametric searches.
RS is also using techniques from the consumer space to deliver
a slick experience, such as in-journey banners providing easy-to- spot entry points to various areas of the main site. In addition, there are more than 30 micro-sites dedicated to individual
brands, allowing customers to locate specific manufacturer product ranges, access product guides and data sheets and receive alerts about new products.
design
A vast number ofmanufacturers, as well as third-party companies and independent developers, are now publishing on-line design tools to help configure circuits and components. Paid-for development kits and other prototype hardware are also becoming increasingly important to aid fast time tomarket. Engineers can access these tools directly on an independent basis, but RS has taken a broader view of web-based design when creating its DesignSpark on-line environment.
DesignSpark provides a point of reference
for facilities such as peer-reviewed electronic design tools and a library of downloadable 3D CADmodels. It also hosts an on-line technical communitywith over 50,000members.
For DesignSpark users, free design tools
Over 200 on-line design apps and tools are available via the SparkStore
Buy
Finally, on-line product realisationmust integrate web-based component purchasing tools. RS' On-line Quotes environment provides a login-protected 'my account' area with facilities similar to consumer on-line banking or internet shopping services. These include internet-based price checking, support for price negotiation, storing of agreed pricing and delivery scheduling. Moreover, as electronic purchasingmoves onto the web, laborious tasks such as cross-checking part references, locating component matches and checking availability are now automated. The buyer only has to upload the parts list.
By driving advanced internet services into the supply chain, RS
Components is showing how distribution can helpmove product realisation to a new level.
www.rswww.com April 2011 | 33
are easily accessible - visit the SparkStore, browse, read reviews and click to download. Over 200 apps frommanufacturers and independent developers are nowavailable. RS has also become a tool provider in its own right by creating DesignSpark PCB, a free-of-charge PCB design/layout tool.
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