DigiKey’s VP, global business development, Mike Slater, explains how high-service distribution connects procurement professionals to products, software and solutions.
Distributors are an important part of the electronics supply chain, connecting products from suppliers to businesses. High-service distribution offers procurement pros access to cutting-edge products and value-added tools and services. With a strong breadth and depth of products across a broad range of product categories, high-service distributors can efficiently get components into buyers’ hands, in turn creating impactful products for consumers worldwide.
The supply chain and distribution industries are complex and nuanced. Buyers are likely used to fluctuations in business from changing material, labor and logistics costs, supply chain disruptions and increased competition. For high-service distributors, the goal is to balance availability, delivery and cost with the services buyers need to make their jobs as easy as possible.
Portfolio variety and product quality
High-service distributors work in close partnership with suppliers to make sure their portfolio serves a variety of markets and applications. Distributors support the needs of procurement professionals, engineers and designers by constantly expanding their product offerings to sustain emerging technologies in IoT devices and applications, electric vehicles and energy alternatives, 5G networks, AI chips, hardware and data center development. Suppliers and distributors work together to offer customers valuable insights on trending products and applications and communicate closely to navigate and reduce any supply chain impacts.
Having a large number of components on the web and available for immediate shipping is the cornerstone of high-service distribution. Buyers expect and demand inventory that’s available to purchase for same-day shipping. Customers want access to an ever wider selection of products and the newest technologies to bring their designs to market faster.
Industry best practices for high-service distribution also include only buying directly from franchised manufacturers to ensure components are new, authentic and fully warrantable under the direct supplier and that accurate, up-to-date technical information is readily available.
Digital tools
The digital transformation of business is underway, which means many procurement pros are looking to frictionless digital tools to broaden their capabilities. High-service distributors offer a variety of digital solutions, like APIs, EDI and punchout catalogs, designed to reduce costs and errors and increase efficiency, accuracy and time to market.
High-service distribution connects procurement professionals to millions of products, software and solutions every day. The top players in the industry are focused on what will add value and make buyers’ lives easier. By listening to those customers and continuously improving, high-service distributors can adapt to the market’s changing needs. In many cases, that means getting products delivered within 24 hours—an expediency that helps buyers, designers and engineers do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.