Avnet 2000 Annual Report Download - page 11

Differentiation – Creating
service-based value propositions
that increase the economic
value of Avnet’s physical,
financial and knowledge
resources.
The electronics market landscape has changed dramat-
ically in the years since Avnet incorporated in 1955. But
change has never been so profound or more evident than in the last
few years, especially the metamorphosis of the electronics supply
chain. The amount of space Avnet occupies in the conventional supply chain has
grown. However, with the changing times and Avnet’s desire to create and
sustain shareholder value, the Company must evolve beyond its traditional
roots in distribution.
Avnet is differentiating itself from its competitors by creating service-based value
propositions that increase the economic value of Avnet’s physical, financial and
knowledge resources. Consider the untapped white spaces – opportunities – that
exist within the value web in the global technology marketspace, then imagine Avnet
filling those spaces by creating services that add even more value for the
Company’s customers and suppliers.
A perfect example of this vision is this year’s formation of Avnet Applied Computing
(AAC), the Company’s newest operating group. AAC is the first distributor dedi-
cated to system- and subsystem-level products for the OEM market.
Avnet has not only differentiated itself at the operating group level, but within those
operating groups as well. Refocusing Computer Marketing’s divisions by product
segment is another example of the differentiation that sets Avnet apart. Within
Electronics Marketing, the HEAT (High Growth Emerging Account Team) program
launched Avnet’s customer-focused suite of services in North America. The program
provides innovative services and targeted resources like consulting and marketing
to small start-up companies with high potential.
New value propositions like HEAT represent the disaggregation – or unbundling – of
the services Avnet provides. By creating targeted, service-oriented offerings, Avnet
is working toward mitigating the cyclicality inherent in the traditional electronic com-
ponents distribution industry, and in the process is focusing on increasing return on
capital employed. Avnet will continue disaggregating the traditional distribution
model by offering more of the Company’s core value-added services in an á là carte,
or fee-for-service, manner. Customers and suppliers will be able to tailor their needs
to the moment, shift services to capitalize on global manufacturing opportunities,
stay abreast of evolving technology and manage time-to-market pressures.
IBM disc drives are pre-loaded
with the end customer’s specific
software by technicians in Avnet
Computer Marketing’s
Production Integration Center,
Chandler, Arizona.
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NEW VALUE PROPOSITIONS
INNOVATION
Drawing from its deep well of knowledge
to capitalize on technological advances,
Avnet strives to be its customers’ and
suppliers’ first choice.