SELF-SERVICE Revolution for the components industry

The Self-Service Revolution
By Diane Trommer

As service providers, electronic component distributors’ value proposition is typically defined by their ability to not just meet, but also exceed customer expectations. Sales representatives or field application engineers who are willing to go the extra mile are rewarded with both business and customer loyalty. In today’s fast food, have-it-your-way world, however, distributors are finding that a best-in-class, customer service experience is not just a byproduct of physical efforts on behalf of the customer. These days, superior customer service is also defined by a distributor’s ability to help customers help themselves with Web-based tools and services.This is a somewhat revolutionary approach for broadline distributors, said Beth Ely, senior vice president and director of new channel development for Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, Phoenix. As middlemen in the supply chain, distributors are understandably wary of anything that might distance them from their customers. At first glance, both the Web and the concept of customer self-service seem to represent potential threats to the distributor’s share of the supply chain pie. Yet, as the pressure to shrink development costs and lead times mounts, customers are increasingly turning to distributor partners for easy access to do-it-yourself online tools and information. “Our experience has shown that tools which enable customers to perform certain tasks at their own convenience without the need for outside intervention actually strengthen the bond between Avnet and our customers,” said Ely.

Though the Web has hardly been an overnight sensation that many predicted it would become in terms of pure e-commerce, the impact of its slow but steady infiltration of the electronic supply chain should not be underestimated, according to Robin Gray, executive vice president of the National Electronics Distributors Association, Alpharetta, Ga. “It has taken time for the distribution sector as a whole to find the best ways to use the Internet. But as they continue to refine the functionality, there is increasing benefit and value out there for the design engineering community.”

Distributors that reap this benefit are able to translate the value that defines the company offline into the online experience. “Any site can take you to a part, but what is most important is assuring that the part is the optimal choice, that it can be supported through the development and production of the customer’s end product,” Ely said. “My goal is to harness the richness of information that differentiates Avnet and bring that online.”

Avnet offers a range of online resources to customers including component user guides, schematics and test files, as well as on-demand Web seminars and e-newsletters featuring the latest products and services available. Avnet also recently updated its PartBuilder parametric search tool to provide detailed product data for nearly two million parts that are now accessible through the distributor’s Web site. PartBuilder enables users to search the Avnet database using a part description versus a specific part number. When a search is performed, the data returned includes the technical specifications and other relevant information like whether the part is stocked and if it is a top seller.

Going forward, Ely plans to further refine the search capability to enable even more intelligence in the search results. This will include more informational offerings on parts and services related to the original search topic. If a customer searches for a particular FPGA, the results will include links to information such as evaluation boards for the device and related seminars. “This will allow online customers to benefit from the same kind of value add recommendations that they would receive offline from our technical specialists,” said Ely.

For catalog distributors, the self-service concept has long been a part of the business model. The Web now enables these distributors to go beyond pure product selection and offer a greater scope of value add services. For example, Digi-Key Inc. of Thief River Falls, Minn., has established a library of on-demand product training modules. The modules offer engineers around-the-clock access to in-depth training on some of the industry’s latest and most innovative products, according to Digi-Key President Mark Larson.

Digi-Key has also updated its static online catalog with a new interactive version that features clickable part numbers, as well as links to detailed product data sheets and photos. “For our customers, the e-commerce model is very convenient because real-time pricing, availability and product comparisons are just a few clicks away,” Larson said. “This allows users to not only research components, but also purchase them from anywhere at anytime of the day or night.”

While component sales are the ultimate goal for all distributors, the full scope of the impact and value the Web has had on the electronics supply chain is difficult to quantify. “A lot of people use distributors’ sites for a wide range of tactical and value added information, but not all (customers) buy online,” said Ely. “If we continue to measure strictly by percentage of revenue, we will miss the fact of how revolutionary the change in the way customers conduct business has been.”