Powerhouse still flexing its muscles
16 Feb 2000
News
Maurice McDowell
The past year saw a major shift in the supply and demand of components in the industry. Up until about mid-year most electronic components were freely available on relatively short lead times. This has been the case for the past 2-3 years. Very swiftly from mid-year onwards, the situation changed, with lead times rapidly extending and many suppliers announcing that their components were on allocation. Interestingly enough, it was passive components that seemed to fare worst in the lead time stakes. Sawfilters were almost unavailable. This was driven mainly by the telecommunications market and cellular telephony market in particular. This situation will extend well into the year 2000.
Globally, the component distribution industry continued to see a consolidation of distributors with Avnet taking the lead in completing the largest ever acquisition in the distribution industry by taking over Marshall Industries in the US and SEI and Macro in Europe.
In South Africa, customers are more and more following global trends in reducing their number of vendors and demanding value-add services from their distributors. The new buzz-word in the industry is 'supply chain management', a field in which Avnet has the clear lead. Especially in times of component shortages it is essential for local manufacturers to engage in long-term relationships with their component suppliers, ie the local distributors, to ensure that components are available when they are needed. Short-term purchasing relationships by and large cannot achieve this goal or at substantially higher cost.
For Avnet Kopp the year was an eventful one starting off with the launch of two major lines, namely Texas Instruments (TI) and AMP, and culminating in being awarded the International Rectifier (IR) franchise at year-end which was launched in January 2000. Avnet Kopp has refined its value-add proposition to customers with its integrated material services (IMS) and its POURS software point of use replenishment system. With the year ending on such a positive note we are confident that this trend will continue well into the year 2000.
Further reading:
Fro the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing
News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.
Read more...
Global semiconductor sales increase
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has announced global semiconductor sales were $57,0 billion during the month of April 2025, an increase of 2,5% compared to the March 2025.
Read more...
Avnet Abacus announced new president
Avnet Abacus
News
Avnet Abacus has announced that Mario Merino will succeed Rudy Van Parijs as president of Avnet Abacus, effective 1 July 2025.
Read more...
Avnet Abacus wins multiple prestigious awards
Avnet Abacus
News
The awards from Molex recognise outstanding performance, collaboration, and significant growth in the challenging market conditions of 2024.
Read more...
Components distribution slowdown Q1 2025
News
European components distribution (DMASS) experienced a continued slowdown in the first quarter 2025.
Read more...
Semiconductor sales increase 17% YoY
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) recently announced global semiconductor sales were $54,9 billion during the month of February 2025, an increase of 17,1% compared to the February 2024 total.
Read more...
Silicon Labs – Q1 results
News
Silicon Labs, a leading innovator in low-power wireless, recently reported financial results for the first quarter, which ended April 5, 2025.
Read more...
Strengthening industry through strategic partnerships at KITE 2025
Specialised Exhibitions
News
The KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition is not just an exhibition, it is a powerhouse of industry collaboration where visitors and exhibitors gain access to authoritative insights, technical expertise, and high-impact networking opportunities.
Read more...
Solar Youth Project calls on industry to step up
News
With the second cohort completed training and the first cohort returning for their final module, host companies are urgently needed to turn the training into a long-term opportunity.
Read more...
Conlog powers SA’s future with national smart meter rollout
News
Conlog recently secured the RT29-2024 contract from National Treasury, which is seen to be a major milestone towards modernising SA’s utility infrastructure.
Read more...