October 17, 2013
Editor's Note 
BarbaraJorgensen

Welcome to the first edition of the EPS Purchasing Pro newsletter.  We know procurement professionals deal with a constantly changing environment, so EPS is designed to bring you news and information that's most relevant to what you do. We also hope it will help you do your job better.

 

For example, this month, Lytica founder Ken Bradley charts A Better Path to Purchasing Cost Reduction. Lytica is the developer of the freebenchmarking.com tool that helps buyers analyze their component pricing. Douglas Alexander, EPS contributor and component engineer, tackles Purchasing Ethics: The Lies We Tell.

 

EPS also knows buyers have to choose their partners carefully, so we've begun profiling leading suppliers and distributors in the electronics supply chain. This month's selection includes TTI, Mouser, Digi-Key,Jameco, Honeywell and NKK. You might pick up a few things you didn't know about these companies: Jameco, for example, manufactures its own brand of components and Digi-Key is moving into the small-production-volume business.

 

Most of all we know buyers are looking for new product information. EPS Executive Editor Gina Roos provides her component picks of the month, and our news ticker and news wire segments cover new franchises and product agreements. We hope you find our site helpful.

 

I also would like to enlist your assistance with a survey EPS has launched as part of our efforts to gain a better understanding of the electronics purchasing and procurement community. If you buy or specify components for a manufacturer, we would like to hear from you. The survey won't take more than 15 minutes and we will provide an executive summary of the reports to respondents in addition to entering them into a drawing to win one of two mini iPads.

 

Simply click on the following link to get started: http://survey.beacontech.com/2328/cgi-bin/ciwweb.pl?studyname=2328&p=3

 

 Please be assured that all answers are completely confidential and will be used only in combination with others we receive. Your candid response is critical to the success of this research.

 

Starting next month, Douglas Alexander will be managing the EPS Purchasing Pro newsletter. Douglas has a unique style and he's walked a mile or so in purchasing's shoes. You'll gain a lot of insight in the coming months.

 

Barbara Jorgensen

EPS Managing Editor

barbara.jorgensen@epsnewsonline.com 

DigiKeyNL728x90_BOM    
Featured Articles 
Lytica
Military, Aviation Markets More Vulnerable to Counterfeiting
The global aviation and military markets have become even more vulnerable to counterfeiting challenges today as companies channel higher portions of their product development resources to the consumer electronics segment, leaving lower volume sectors to utilize unsafe channels for filling urgent and difficult component procurement needs, industry sources said. Link

What RoHS 2 Means to Buyers and the Channel
Now that the EU's Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) has been around awhile, manufacturers have a pretty good idea what's necessary to comply with the directive. Now RoHS 2 is on the horizon, and the role channel partners play in environmental compliance efforts will be expanded. Link

Essential Design Tips for Purchasing Pros

One of the most effective means of communication is by means of an illustration. If that illustration contains dimensional data and design characteristics that predict what a future product may look like, then the illustration can be referred to as a concept drawing. A concept drawing does not contain critical parametric or component values because at the time of the drawing's creation, the product has not yet been designed. Link

  
Memory Prices Decline, But is it Sustainable?
Memory semiconductor vendors have engineered the seemingly impossible. Prices are rising, inventories are tighter, there's even talk of shortages in certain product areas due to a fire that halted production at a major facility and overall, the fundamentals of the memory market are seen as much better today than they have been in years. How did the survivors of the memory wars achieve such a feat and what does the firmer supply and pricing conditions mean for OEM customers. Link

Delph: Avnet Aims to be Even Bigger in IP&E
Avnet Inc. prides itself on being a broadline distributor that's able to supply all the components needed by its thousands of customers globally. That hasn't stopped the company from trying in recent years to stamp its imprint on the interconnects, passives and electromechanical (IP&E) market, a segment where it has an understated position despite being one of the top distributors. Link

Plexus Hits the Reset Button
It's not often that a CEO admits his company's sales strategy needs a complete overhaul because it has "stalled" but that was the blunt message Dean Foate had for Plexus Corp. shareholders recently. Link

Purchasing with Finesse
If you have been a buyer for even a short amount of time, you have probably already become aware of your dependency upon the integrity of everyone you deal with in the supply chain. You are in a pivotal position in both the supply and demand links because what you buy, (demand) is filling someone else's need for product, (supply) Link


 
News 
Alliance Memory, Rotakorn Ink Distribution Deal
Alliance Memory today announced that it has expanded its distribution partnership with Rotakorn Electronics AB, a leading hybrid distributor in Sweden. Link
Mouser Offers TI Design Tool
Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now offering an online software design tool from Texas Instruments that delivers customized designs in mere seconds. Link
Web down! Surviving the Inconceivable Supply Chain Disaster
Avnet Inc. says it will resume paying dividends to shareholders starting in the just ended quarter and marking its first payment since 2002. In a statement, the company's board of directors said it approved "the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend" and noted that it expects to do this "on a regular basis" in future. Link

News Wire




WHITE PAPER
WHITE PAPER

WHITE PAPER
STAY CONNECTED

Like us on Facebook    Follow us on Twitter    View our profile on LinkedIn   
Electronics Purchasing Strategies | | gina.roos@epsnewsonline.com | 156 Gilbert Ave.
Mansfield, MA 02048

Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.