Give the Complete Electron Configuration for S

What do Electronics Distributors Do?

Most of us don't think about how a product gets from a manufacturer and into the user's hands. It's a multistep process that depends on getting the product to the right people at the right time. The role of the electronics distributor is crucial to this complicated process.

Types of Electronics Distributors

Sometimes, a manufacturer can't interact with its many customers, so it hires a distributor to take its products to market. This process is called supply chain. Internal supply chain involves all of the processes that occur within a company including distribution. External supply chain involves the transport of products to retailers. Generally, the types of electronics distributors fall into three broad categories:

• High service distributor: Carries a high number of stock items that they are willing to ship quickly and in small amounts. Best used for development and small production runs.
• Broad-line distributor: Carries a wide variety of products and are geared more toward companies with large production runs but will supply smaller quantities. Also provides storage and scheduling support.
• Specialized distributor: Focuses efforts on specific products like cell phones or computers, for example.
• Independent sales and marketing agent: This type of distributor carries no stock but can arrange for electronic components to be supplied when needed.

The Role of an Electronics Distributor

Today's electronics components distributors provide manufacturers with a host of services from handling supply, scheduling, education and technical support. Handling supply is broken down into two broad areas: small quantity and large quantity. Supplying small quantities of components is usually where distributors often start as manufacturers are unwilling to supply small quantities directly. In the past, supplying large quantities of components was handled directly by the manufacturer. Now, such large production runs are handled almost exclusively by distributors.

Scheduling and Demand Planning

Scheduling delivery of components to buyers is a key part of a distributor's responsibility. Distributors utilize demand planning and use manufacturing philosophies like just-in-time (JIT) to make the supply chain more efficient. Demand planning involves anticipating what you're going to sell. Typically, distributors have minimum and maximum inventory levels for each product. For example, a distributor may keep a minimum of 50 capacitors on hand and a maximum of 100. If the distributor sells five, it will, in turn, buy five more from the manufacturer. Delivery time is also a factor in planning as distributors have to consider how much time it takes to transport product to the buyer. Distributors may also keep safety stock on hand. Safety stock is a contingency for manufacturing delays caused by any number of factors including labor disputes, natural disasters or weather. Forward-thinking distributors are utilizing the JIT philosophy to improve efficiency further. With JIT, orders are filled only when there is demand. In this way, distributors are not sitting on large amounts of inventory.

Education,Technical Support and Beyond

In today's market, educating the customers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is increasingly becoming the distributor's responsibility. A distributor with extensive product knowledge and a wide customer base can offer OEMs alternatives they didn't know existed, help with design innovation, troubleshoot problems through technical support and offer product customization when needed.

Meeting the Demands of a Changing Industry

To meet the demands of the global market, the electronics distribution industry is changing rapidly. OEMs are reducing their outside sales force and relying more on their relationship with distributors. This means going beyond the product to provide value-added services that improve efficiency, save money and reflect the changing market. It is critical that distributors remain up to date on the newest trends and technologies by providing continuing education programs for its organization. Some of today's leading distributors have adapted by expanding their services. This means not just providing product sales training but troubleshooting and maintenance training as well.

More From QuestionsAnswered.net

Give the Complete Electron Configuration for S

Source: https://www.questionsanswered.net/article/what-do-electronics-distributors-do?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740012%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex

Share this post