This month sees publication of the ECIA Top 50 Americas Authorized Distributors Report 2024. ECIA chief analyst, Dale Ford, has compiled and presented an astounding amount of comparative data alongside interviews with some of the industry’s most influential executives. I summarise some of the key points below and those who would like to read the report in full can do so using the link at the end of the article.
One of the most interesting graphs for me is labelled Electronic Component Supply Chain Challenge Expectations. Firstly, two new rows have been added: geopolitical conflicts and government regulations, ranking second and eighth respectively. As 2024 unfolds it looks like geopolitical issues are increasing with conflicts impacting access to raw materials/ production processes, restricting shipping routes and reducing exports to name three.
Looking at government regulations, there are clearly accelerating import/ export restrictions, plus new waves of compliance requirements which have impacts stretching from allowable materials to cross border taxation.
Top of the list is cybersecurity. One mega trend in the manufacturing sector is digitization, from computer aided design and digital twins to AI’s impact on supplychain decision making. As organizations and their upstream/downstream supply chain partners increase their data gathering and sharing, such networks will need to double down on cyber security. With their human and financial resources, I expect leading distributors to become worldclass pathfinders that others can follow.
Finally, I was interested in the row labelled Recruiting New Talent. Global birth rates started declining many decades ago and the results of this are now starting to impact workforces. Expect recruitment to remain a challenge.
ECIA Top 50 Americas Authorised Distributors Report 2024: http://flk.bz/og5X
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