DistiBlog - the EPN Distribution Blog

Flying Down to Rio - And St.Louis

Not the worse week for one current Arrow employee and a former staffer.

Messages From the Summit

Well, well here's a turn up at the top. Avnet and Arrow have both recently posted financial results and absolutely strolled past the forecasts and expectations of analysts .

Industry Responds to Sensitive Touch

Touch controls have been sine qua non in the consumer market without much sign of them populating industrial applications. Well, until now.

Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning?

Phew! Or even double phew! There are some sighs of relief emanating from European distributors following the release of second quarter 2008 numbers from IDEA (International Distribution of Electronics Association).

Get Your Skates On

Some heavy hitters have lined up to sponsor Premier Farnell's 2008 Live EDGE Electronic Design competition. It rewards electronic engineers who devise a great environmentally friendly product in the eyes of some very distinguished judges.

Bringing Home the Bacon

Distributors have had to become more adaptable in the past few years, especially the smaller guys operating against some of the industry's leviathans. Yes, many of these smaller companies boast a focused product range adorned by the necessary technical back-up. Sometimes it takes a bit more.

Digi-Key via Bob Dylan

When Digi-Key started flexing its muscles in the European market, I thought how in the world do they run a global business supply chain from a small town in northern Minnesota (just about 100 miles from the Canadian border)?

ECO warriors

Ever wondered what your carbon emissions are? Thought not. Well now you have a chance thanks to a very smart idea launched by our friends in Poing, EBV Elektronik.

Out of REACH?

Just released research in the US and Europe undertaken by IPC shows that 40% of manufacturing and purchasing personnel have absolutely no clear understanding of the REACH (Restriction, Evaluation , Authorisation of Chemicals) regulation. Oh and it’s been in force for over a year already.

Top 10 Executives in Component Distribution

First up this list is restricted to distributors, so the vendors miss out, though I'm sure there were folk there who had a beneficial impact on the business. And if I’m honest limited to my 30-year experience of the business. So feel free to disagree.

Go West? Or maybe that should read East

I’ll guarantee you that Eastern Europe would not have got a mention at any supplier’s distribution awards 10 years ago. The growing importance of these countries especially Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic now has distributors fully focused.