Interview I Future Electronics
Different levels of interaction are crucial A
Future Electronics' Steve Carr talks about the distributor’s new specialist power division launched at electronica last year with Neil Tyler
t last year’s electronica in Munich the technical distributor Future Electronics unveiled a new specialist
division, Future Power Solutions, in a move designed to set higher standards when it came to delivering technical and supply- chain services to OEM buyers of power components and modules. In Munich Steve Carr, Technical and
Vertical Markets Director at Future Electronics, described the new division to CIE. He explained that because the market for OEM power supplies, both in terms of distributors and device manufacturers, was highly fragmented, “It means that there is space for Future Electronics, a global distributor with world-class capabilities in applications engineering, inventory management and logistics, to match small specialist suppliers’ technical capabilities while providing a supply-chain service with a global reach.”
Carr talked about the distributor’s ability
to offer in-depth, specialist technical and market understanding of power technology, while at the same time
drawing on the global supply-chain capabilities of its parent business, Future Electronics.
The new division, which joined the company’s existing specialist divisions covering energy and lighting, looks to supply discrete power components, power modules, and standard and configurable power supplies to customers, as well as to develop and produce custom power solutions via its System Design Centres which provide solutions and services that include new product development, product design evaluation, reference designs validation, proof of concepts and other various design consulting services. Commenting on the division Carr said that the intention behind the new division was that it would develop along the same lines as the company’s successful Future Lighting Solutions.
“Our Lighting Solutions division is seen as a leading provider of LED lighting components and solution support for both lighting designers and OEMs who are interested in working with solid state
lighting technology. We are able to provide LED lighting knowledge, resources, programs, partners, solutions and logistics support to promote the development of LED products and installations and that is what underpinned our decision to launch Future Power Solutions.” At its launch Future Power Solutions was able to announce that it had pulled together an impressive line-up of franchised suppliers of discrete components, modules and brick power supplies. In line with Future Electronics’ policy of investing in inventory, extensive stocks of franchised suppliers’ products have been made available for next-day delivery from distribution centres in Memphis (North America), Leipzig (EMEA) and Singapore (Asia).
Six months on I got to talk with Carr at the company’s offices in Egham about how the launch of the division had gone and how customers have reacted to the new division.
“The decision to launch Future Power Solutions was all about adding more value
Steve Carr, Technical and Vertical Markets Director at Future Electronics
and to benefit the customer. One of the key benefits of being a private company is that we can invest for the long term. What we try to do is identify the key technologies that we think will grow and then we look to build a long term presence. Planning for the longer term means we get a much better understanding of the market we’re operating in,” Carr explains. “Ten years ago we launched our Lighting Division and what our experience from that told us was that we could not just act as a distributor going forward. We had to sell the concept of ‘light’ rather than simply sell it as a product. We learned a lot from that launch and I think we applied what we’d learned when it came to handling this new division.“ According to Carr customers like the focus that Future Power Solutions can bring. “Customers now have access to a team of people focused on power, and they’re not just about selling a product. They actually understand the needs of customers and we’re looking to establish a long term relationship with them. We don’t
20 March 2013
Components in Electronics
www.cieonline.co.uk
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