When it comes to electronic component distribution, Siemens Components and its alliance partner Electrocomp offer industry the best of all worlds from the supply of small quantities of product for development right through to servicing the JIT needs of the large OEMs.
The relationship between the two companies has been in existence since the early 1980s with the companies operating closely but independently from their respective facilities in Midrand (Siemens) and Wynberg/Kew (Electrocomp). Three years ago, Electrocomp invested in a new custom-designed 3000 m2 warehouse and Head Office in Linbro Business Park, and the decision was taken that Siemens would join them there, providing the opportunity to streamline overall operations and improve customer service and satisfaction. The basis of the partnership that has proved so effective, is that Siemens sells directly to the large OEMs while Electrocomp handles the small to medium-sized entities. Joint visits to customers are made on a regular basis and the decision whether Siemens or Electrocomp should service a particular client is made on a shared basis. Ultimately, the intention is always to provide the best and most cost-effective service for the customer. The Siemens/Electrocomp partnership was recently assessed by independent consultants to be the 'best electronic component supplier' in South Africa.
Electrocomp and Siemens have separate warehouses in the Linbro park facility. Both are managed by Electrocomp and it is also responsible for all deliveries, using its own fleet of vehicles (five in Gauteng alone). The two companies share the same PABX allowing for seamless transfer of customers' calls between the two companies. Electrocomp is also directly linked to the on-line global inventory and ordering system of Siemens. This provides Electrocomp immediate access to product data, inventory and pricing without the need to contact Siemens personnel. To make life even simpler and effective for customers, orders are placed directly using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
Electrocomp, while being the sole South African distributor for Siemens Components, also represents a number of other principals who provide a supply route for complementary electronic components. This is particularly important for smaller customers who can use Electrocomp as a 'one-stop-shop' for all their electronic component requirements. Notwithstanding this, Nadeem Fataar of Electrocomp pointed out that the sales of Siemens components comprise a healthy 60% of turnover. It is, however, franchised for brands that include Bourns, Semikron, Datavision, Molex, Supprescraft and many more, and through its extensive international network Electrocomp says it can source virtually any electronic component for its large customer base. A large stock-holding in Gauteng and the regional branches ensures delivery of most orders placed within 24 hours. More unusual requests are dealt with expeditiously using airfreight from Europe.
The Siemens Components business is now managed by Edwin Brown, who is ably assisted on the sales side by Conan Jones (Infineon Technologies and Osram), Mike Navarra (EPCOS) and Ian Bruton (chip cards, biometrics and GSM modules). Edwin Brown has more 20 years experience in the components business, fifteen of these with Siemens itself. The sales team is fully supported by a group of Field Applications Engineers who have in depth knowledge of the full product range. EPCOS is of course the previous Siemens Matsushita Components and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of passive electronic components, covering ferrites, polyester capacitors, gas arrestors, chokes, resonators and resistors. To this Siemens adds electro-optical components and devices from Osram. These include LEDs, intelligent displays, lasers and fibre optic components.
Infineon was previously Siemens Semiconductors in Germany, and is the world's largest supplier of smartcard IC technology with global market share by volume of 54%. Locally, Infineon supplies some 70% of the chips required to enable smartcards. From Infineon Technologies, Siemens and Electrocomp are able to offer a wide range of semiconductor products including ICs, ASICs for virtually all forms of digital communication, and general-purpose microcontrollers. In regard to telecommunications, Siemens offers a range of dual-band cellular engines, its TC35 being in widespread use today. This product is about to be complemented with the MC35 that will offer all the widely acclaimed features of the TC35 but adds Rapid GPRS technology.
One exciting new area for Siemens is the biometric FingerTip sensor. Incorporating a capacitative finger print sensor, this component can be bought as a discrete component to be built into a custom biometric identification system. Siemens also offers a complete product in the form of the ID Mouse Professional. Just launched onto the local market the ID Mouse does away with inconvenient and insecure passwords and PINs and ensures that computer access is only possible by those whose fingerprint data is stored in the PC. It can also be configured to provide different levels of access for a multi-user system. Sophisticated built-in algorithms combined with unique reader technology can provide identification and access in less than a second. While there are some experiments going on in terms of using other biometric traits (retinal scan etc.) for access, the fingerprint is by far the widest used means of secure and unique identification. No doubt we will see the Siemens technology employed on the next generation of cellular phones and possibly even as a truly secure ignition key for vehicles.
While Siemens retains its own core team of highly experienced FAEs to whom Electrocomp has access, the latter also has it own application engineers: Philip Hall and Bruce Sutherland. The task of these FAEs is to ensure that the customer is aware of the technological capabilities of the Siemens range of components at the design and prototype stage, so that there is no competition when it comes to production. Electrocomp is particularly skilled at the task of sourcing small quantities of components for prototype development from Siemens in Germany should they not be readily available from local inventory.
Electrocomp, with a staff complement of more than 100, has offices in most major centres in South Africa and in many of these branches there is also regional representation from Siemens. The success of the model adopted by Siemens and Electrocomp and their mission of being the 'electronic component supplier of choice in southern Africa' is in evidence from their financial results over the period since their consolidation in Linbro Park. Electrocomp has experienced annual growth of between 30 and 35% and the sales of Siemens products have thus seen expansion in what has been recognised by the electronics industry as a period of decline. Earlier this year Electrocomp celebrated its 21st anniversary while Siemens as a company, has had a presence in South Africa since 1860. Both companies are looking forward to staying 'one step beyond' their competition.
| Tel: | +27 11 458 9000 |
| Fax: | +27 11 458 9034/5 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.electrocomp.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about Electrocomp |
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