Feature 40 years of electrical & electronics
Distribution developments Forty years ago the role of distribution in the electronics industry was in its early stages. Component manufactur- ers spoke directly to equipment manu- facturers so why should they invite anyone else into bed? Manufacturers soon realised, however, that the time and expense of dealing with small value orders was not profitable within their management structures, so they sought a solution by appoint- ing distributors.
Harwin used to support all cus- tomers with a direct sales team but has now adopted a policy to support a distribution network to enable them to concentrate on core skills of leading-edge product design and manufacturing.
I think there has been a marked change in attitude towards distribu- tion companies over the past 40 years and we are now seen to provide industrial growth and profitability. Consumer companies now realise that a supplier that holds stock and deliv- ers next day is a valuable business partner. I welcome this change as it reflects my own viewpoint.
Hypertac has a similar view of its channels to market. Appointing a proactive and technically competent distributor to deal with established
products enables the company to pro- vide the technical support that key customers demand.
A major change over the past decade is that manufacturing compa- nies now tend to demand regular product call-off on short lead-times while minimising their stock holding. We have customers who seek to hold no stock at all and demand delivery on a lead time of between two and five days. This involves Aerco in forward ordering and significant stock holding with two or three deliveries a week to meet call-off requirements. These methods, although comparatively new to the professional electronics indus- try, have been commonplace in the automotive and white goods industries for many years.
Meeting these requirements does represent a challenge for today’s elec- tronics distributor but it is also a great opportunity. Manufacturers are unable to offer such a service to all but the very biggest customers and so the distributor moves up the food chain adding real value to the service offered.
And to the next 40 years... Applications, products, manufactur- ing techniques and the very structure of our industry have changed enor- mously over the past 40 years. It is
beyond me to look forward a similar period but in the short to medium term I do see a continued growth in the importance of distributors in the electronics industry, combined with continued specialisation among com- ponent manufacturers. We now live in a global bubble buffeted by influ- ences that are hard to predict and harder to keep up with. It is therefore important for all companies to focus on customers’ needs and make full use of the technologies available.
Harwin S-Tek connectors
Aerco T: 01403 260206
www.aerco.co.uk
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