Distribution


including open order status, past promised dates, cancelled orders, closed orders, in transit, recently shipped, shipped within thirty days, upcoming orders and potentially delinquent.


POURS, which is Avnet's point of use


replenishment system, is available as a web- based inventory management app that allows customers to access their POURS account without logging into a PC. Users can receive notifications on their mobile phone and have access to their replenishment database so they can approve orders, track shipments or take other action.


"The bulk of the [web] traffic is either searching for or going through guided navigation to find products. Most users are checking to see if Mouser has the part and if it can be shipped today," said Hayne Shumate, vice president of Internet business, Mouser Electronics.


to be created for the different operating systems — iPhone, Android phones and Windows devices.


Allied's parent company


Electrocomponents plc also has the same view about mobile apps. "They certainly see the strength of mobile in our future and are working toward it in the same way," said Stewart. The RS mobile site allows users to search for parts by keyword, manufacturer part number, brand and RS stock numbers;


"The apps are more customer specific and for day-to-day supply


chain management such as what's on order, what are the promised dates, what's in transit, what's the waybill number, can I trace it, and what is potentially coming due," said Sanders.


"Where we differentiate our app is that it's just not pointing to our


website," said Sanders. "Many apps that I see — not only from distributors in the electronics industry — point you to a website. It opens up the browser and the transaction is done on the website. It's not a true app designed for mobility."


However, creating a mobile-optimized website for Avnet Express,


which allows buyers to search, buy and research parts, is part of the distributor's ongoing conversation about mobile strategies. "We do plan to continue to increasingly address mobile devices as we move forward. This will definitely be a big consideration in our redesign," said Beth Ely, senior vice president, Avnet Express.


Mobile-optimized websites have an edge


Many distributors continue to see mobile traffic as a percentage of their overall web traffic increase, and are in the evaluation stage in terms of choosing the right mobile solution for their customers.


For example, Allied Electronics


is looking at it from two different routes — how to make its website more friendly for tablets, and how to create a good experience for customers who are using mobile phones.


"We're leaning more towards


keeping our normal site for tablet users, while continuing to refine the user experience to make sure that it's friendly for tablets," said Dan Stewart, director of e-commerce, Allied Electronics Inc., Ft. Worth, Tex. "We're also looking to create a second website that is just for handheld phones like iPhones and Androids, which will be a completely different experience."


Stewart said Allied doesn't see that much value in a mobile app


particularly since any task that a buyer wants to accomplish can be done at a mobile website. The other issue is that multiple apps have


"When you look at the behavior of mobile device users, they are generally searching for parts to find basic information like price and availability. They will complete that transaction online immediately or call one of their sales reps directly and place the order offline," said Dan Stewart, director of e-commerce, Allied Electronics.


check live stock availability and pricing; access product image and tech data; place orders and receive order confirmation.


Similarly, Mouser Electronics has focused on its mobile website,


although it offers a mobile app for Apple iOS. Part of the reason for the strategy is because most customers who are using mobile devices are primarily checking for stock, pricing, and technical information.


"Since you have to be connected to the Internet to have real-time


inventory and pricing, we thought the web browser was more important," said Hayne Shumate, vice president of Internet business, Mouser Electronics, Mansfield, Tex.


"But there are some things you can do with apps that you can't do


with the mobile website like barcode reading," he added. While Mouser offers a basic barcode scanning function for its mobile app, it hasn't tied it into a customer's purchasing history yet. Shumate said that enhancement will make it more effective for customers.


Mouser's mobile-enabled site is available in 16 languages and 16 currencies and can run on virtually any device. "In the last month, we had 400 different mobile phone models or tablets hit our website and more than 1,000 transactions, and more than half of those weren't from the U.S.," said Shumate. "That would be hard for us to do if we had a separate app for all of the operating systems that hit us."


Mouser is working to add new features to the


mobile site including project management and sharing shopping carts.


One issue distributors agreed on is that they have


to be very careful in terms of how they develop their mobile websites because they can easily burn customer relationships by having a website that doesn't work properly.


"On the mobile device, we boil it down to what the


customer wants to do; what transaction they want to perform; and give them the most direct path to do


it," said Schubert. "Currently, it's the transaction piece -- searching for a part, purchasing a part or looking at a datasheet -- but going forward the second piece will be more analytical type of information and more supply chain reporting."


"The main thing that drives our decisions is that we want to


create a user experience where the customer can come in and completely self-serve if they prefer to do it that way," said John Gilligan, senior web developer at PEI-Genesis. "We also want to make it very easy to call or email somebody if they prefer to work that way."


January/February 2013 | 27


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