Avnet EM's Harley Feldberg: Looking to small to stay big
Harley Feldberg | As seen in Electronic Business -- Electronic Business recently spoke with Harley Feldberg, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing (Avnet EM), about the distributor's plans to expand its accounts base, work with the new inventory situation, gain from market consolidation, and grow its small customer strategy while navigating the rocky economic environment. What follows are excerpts of that conversation.
EDN: Avnet CEO Roy Vallee stated on your September quarter call that the inventory situation is not what it was around 2001. How does the inventory situation look as compared to other downturns?
Feldberg: A number of [the financial analysts on our call] have published inventory views of the supply chain. If you look at them, generally the trend is the same and that is that days of inventory in the channel has come down over the last couple of years. Where inventory has come up is primarily at our suppliers. … There's been some suspicion that's what's happening is distributors are just not buying inventory. Indeed, what's happened is the supply chain has gotten more efficient in its entirety. Therefore more of the inventory as a percentage is backed up further in the supply chain either in die or in semi finished goods. Because the channel in general has been working with our suppliers to get more efficient, it's had the result -- maybe an unintended consequence -- of moving more of the inventory backward to the most efficient provider, which ultimately is in die form.
There's a lot of doomsday thinking out there right now on the macro economy. What Roy was trying to say is we can't control end demand. Ultimately how many iPods, cars, and airplanes are purchased we don't have any impact on. But the analysts shouldn't think about us in an inventory crisis situation because the overall supply chain is much more efficient.
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Avnet GC puts emphasis on teamwork
David Birk | As seen in The National Law Journal -- Name and title: David Birk, senior vice president and general counsel
Age: 61
Technology supply link: Ranked No. 163 on the Fortune 500, Avnet Inc. is one of the world's largest industrial distributors. It is a source of electronic components, computer products and software for a global base of more than 100,000 customers. Avnet ships 32,000 line items daily from more than 300 suppliers and does business in 73 countries. It offers engineering design, logistics and advisory services, materials management and system integration. Avnet is headquartered in Phoenix.
Founded by Russian immigrant Charles Avnet in 1921, today it employs approximately 13,000 people. Reported revenues for the fiscal year that ended in June were $17.95 billion.
Legal team and outside counsel: Birk manages a global department of 22 attorneys, bolstered by 25 paralegals and administrative staff. Avnet draws its outside counsel from a pool of about 100 firms. Birk, supported by his team, has the final call on their retention. Among those summoned, attorneys from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey and Los Angeles-based Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher assist with domestic mergers and acquisitions. The Hong Kong office of Chicago-based Mayer Brown is another player in Avnet's extensive mergers and acquisition activities. London's Allen & Overy handles European deals.
Of his role as manager, Birk said, "It's all-around developing a team, not individual accomplishments. Never stop creating career opportunities for others. Growth and excellence are all about people, and everything else follows. It's absolutely true in the legal department."
Day duties: As a generalist, "an atypical schedule" characterizes Birk's workday. He focuses on the agenda of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roy Vallee, his direct report. Board meetings keep him busy, and he hasn't missed a session in 19 years. Birk noted that, due to regulatory influence, Avnet's board has changed from 50 percent insiders to an almost completely external membership. Birk manages significant litigation, should it arise. Major mergers and acquisitions, particularly public deals, occupy a large portion of his day. The legal team remains vigilant that the Avnet name and associated brands are protected worldwide. The company's customers generally use technology in new and unique ways, Birk said. For that reason, "We need to have an understanding of where tech is going, and the legal implications of that."
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Avnet sets up sales & service counter at ICC
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Stephen Wong | As seen in Taiwan News -- SHENZHEN, China - Avnet Electronics Marketing (EM), an operating group of the global technology distributor, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), has launched an assault on electronics counterfeiting in China with the opening of a new Sales & Services Counter with a retail business model on Oct 12, 2008, at Shenzhen's International Components Center (ICC).
Avnet is one of China's leading electronics component distribution organizations, enjoying a track record serving large and medium-sized manufacturers. With the launch of the new Sales & Service counter at ICC, Avnet will be able to strengthen the support to small-to-medium-sized manufacturers in China with on-site service. Operating at the Transaction Hall of ICC, Avnet Sales & Service Counter is located at D1, tenth floor, Block C, Electronics Science & Technology Building, 2070 Shennan Road Central, Shenzhen.
"As one of the leading electronics component distribution companies, Avnet has always been committed to customer service and quality assurance," said Stephen Wong, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing, Asia. "We were one of the first supporters of China's RECS (Reliable Electronic Component Supplier) program which provides certification and authenticates legitimate sales channels and sources for electronics components.
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What does green mean?
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| Georg Steinberger |
As seen in EDN -- Wading through the alphabet soup associated with environmental compliance—RoHS, REACH, WEEE and EuP (See Where to Go for Green chart, page 12) —is daunting for many companies. Industry experts say just one or two words would go a long way toward making environmental compliance more user-friendly.
Those words are "standards" and "simplify." "Standards would be very helpful," says Arrow Electronics President, Global Alliance and Supply Chain, Brian McNally. "My advice is to keep it simple," says Barney Martin, vice president for industry practices for the National Electronics Distributors Association (NEDA).
No standards body, such as the International Standards Organization (ISO), oversees global environmental mandates. Therefore, electronics manufacturers affected by the European Union's Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) or China's Administrative Measure on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products ("China RoHS") must demonstrate compliance to each mandate separately. Moreover, even within the EU, countries such as Norway and Switzerland are looking at enacting their own environmental laws that reach beyond RoHS.
"There are no standards for what 'green' is," says Ken Stanvick, principal with consultancy Design Chain Associates (DCA).
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Latest News Coverage
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Avnet, Inc.
October 27, 2008
Avnet Seeks Acquisitions to Boost Growth in Europe, Asia
Defying a global economic slowdown, Avnet Inc.'s management said it will press on with plans to expand operations globally and will be seeking growth opportunities for the company's components and IT distribution divisions in Europe, Asia and Japan as part of its globalization program.
EETimes Supply Network
October 24, 2008
Sales Sluggish as Avnet's Profit Drops 12%
Restructuring charges and sluggish sales of high-end computers and servers resulted in lower quarterly earnings reported Thursday by Avnet Inc.
The Arizona Republic
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Avnet Electronics Marketing
October 28, 2008
SILICA Partners with TI, Xilinx and Microsoft
SILICA has announced that it will be an associated sponsor of the TI Design Forum, which takes place at the Electronica trade show.
Embedded Control Europe
October 20, 2008
Produktzertifizierung für Energieeffizienz Eingeführt
Die Zertifizierung „Best Accessible Technology“ (BAT) ist für EBV ein weiterer Baustein der Kampagne ECOmise it, mit der sich der Halbleiterdistributor für einen langfristigen und nachhaltigen Einsatz für den Klimaschutz verpflichtet hat. Mit BAT stellt EBV besonders energieeffiziente Produkte seines Portfolios in den Mittelpunkt.
Elektronik Praxis, Germany
October 20, 2008
PSoC the Mixed Signal FPGA Companion Chip Video
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY) and the Avnet are offering a free 30-minute video.
FPGA Blog
October 20, 2008
Freescale honors Avnet for aid in its chip sales
Avnet Electronics Marketing has received Freescale's Global Demand Creation Award from Freescale Semiconductor Inc. for helping to boost sales of its chips.
AZCentral.com
October 15, 2008
Deux conceptions de référence pour faciliter le ''solaire-to-machine''
Avnet-Memec, EBV Elektronik et Avnet-Time du groupe Avnet se sont regroupés pour mettre au point deux conceptions de référence
Electronique International, France
October 15, 2008
EBV relancerer sin hjemmside
EBV Elektronik, an Avnet company, has announced a re-launch of its complete web presence: www.EBV.com. The new site, now available in six languages, features the fast delivery of all the latest information about its entire range of products and services, as well as the company’s new, intuitive ‘Product Matrix’, that enables visitors to find their preferred products in seconds.
Ugens Erhverv, Denmark
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Avnet Technology Solutions
October 27, 2008
Websense Launches A/NZ Channel and Customer Certification Program
Websense has launched a new channel and customer certification program and appointed Avnet Technology Solutions as its Authorised Training Partner.
CRN Australia
October 22, 2008
Tiental van Avnet liep hard voor Kinderhulp
Zondag 12 oktober liepen maar liefst 10 mensen van Avnet de hele of halve marathon in Eindhoven.
CRN Netherlands
October 22, 2008
Avnet Schult IBM-Partner auf Breiter Front
Von Ende Oktober bis Mitte November veranstaltet Avnet Technology Solutions verschiedene Schulungen und Workshops.
IT-Busienss, Germany
October 20, 2008
Avnet Targets Value-Added Customers with New Logistics Facility
Avnet Inc. said it will Wednesday (Oct. 29) formally launch a new integration and logistics facility that the component distributor and IT equipment reseller said would help the company better serve customers in North America and other parts of the globe.
EE Times
October 20, 2008
Avnet President Hints at More Acquisitions
John Paget, Global President of Avnet Technology Solutions, has said that its Indian subsidiary is on a lookout for more acquisitions and plans to execute at least one acquisition within the next 12 months.
CRN India
October 17, 2008
Die Avnet University geht erstmals auf Roadshow
IBM Business Partner können sich Ende Oktober 2008 vom Nettetaler Value Added Distributor in Dresden, Hamburg, Düsseldorf und Stuttgart umfassend in Sachen Datensicherung schulen lassen.
Heise Resale, Germany
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Avnet Logistics
October 16, 2008
Programming Presents Opportunity for Distribution
With forecasters projecting that the programmable-IC market will grow at a CAGR (compound-annual-growth rate) of more than 17% from 2007 to 2011, components distributors are taking notice.
EDN
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