New strategy increases company efficiency and delivers greater value to customers

Thame, UK 30th March 2010

Avnet Memec today announced a new business strategy which will apply the vast knowledge of its Business Development Managers to directly improving customer engagement within vertical markets.

The new Vertical Market Strategy offers benefits to suppliers and customers; by focusing Avnet Memec’s specialist resources on solving the issues within specific areas of vertical markets, each Business Development Manager (BDM), will be better positioned to represent all of Avnet Memec’s suppliers’ solutions to customers with common problems. 

“In the past, our Business Development Managers have been focused on specific supplier lines,” said Chris Shipway, UK Sales Director. “This move puts them back in the field, customer facing and responsible for specific vertical markets, in which they have 20+ years of experience.”

By applying the BDMs market and technical knowledge more effectively, customers will see direct and immediate benefits in the form of a more effective exchange of information, helping them identify the right solutions for their current and future projects based on the applicability of specific products to specific markets.

The vertical markets identified by Avnet Memec’s BDMs cover established UK markets, such as Audio/Video & Broadcast, Military/Aerospace and Industrial Automation, as well as emerging markets including Smart Metering, Solid State Lighting & Information, and Renewable Energy.

Driving demand creation for its suppliers is a key initiative for any distributor, but Avnet Memec believes it is now crucial to match that need with increased value to its customers, by focusing more strongly on its customers’ marketplace and applying the experience and knowledge of its BDMs more directly to its customers’ issues.

“This represents a subtle change for Avnet Memec,” continued Shipway: “Our BDMs are now directly responsible for demand creation and meeting their customers’ needs within their vertical markets.” 

Shipway believes that more efficient customer engagement is now essential for value-added distributors, due to the time-to-market and time-in-market pressures facing the industry: “By adopting a vertical market strategy, Avnet Memec’s BDMs, FSEs and FAEs will be better placed to have a more effective exchange of information, opening more customer doors.” 

The new strategy will also enable Avnet Memec to be more selective with new product lines, by having a better understanding of the market conditions and its customers’ business strategies. This will promote further introduction of niche, specialist silicon suppliers who are addressing specific markets within the embedded electronics sector.

Avnet Memec, a business unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA, is a highly specialised semiconductor distributor, operating on a pan-European basis and employing a significant number of engineers to support customers’ design efforts. Avnet Memec specialises in highly innovative suppliers and technologies, which will help a variety of customers to differentiate their designs. Its area of specialisation extends from Analog and Microcontrollers to RF, Datacom and Networking. The business unit operates out of 31 offices in 19 European countries and represents major semiconductor franchises on a pan-European basis. www.avnet-memec.eu