US Electronic Components Distribution and Value‐added Services

An attempt is made to detect and analyse changes in the electronics distribution industry with regard to “value‐added” services provided to its customers. The basic areas of interest covered by this research are what kinds of additional services are being offered by the electronics distribution industry and how long these services have been available to customers; to what extent customers have utilised these services; how this is expected to change; how much impact service provision has had on the “bottom line” for electronics distributors; what has motivated distribution when deciding what, if any, services to provide; what problems were encountered in each service area, and finally, what effect service provision has had on the distribution business as a whole, and what changes are anticipated by distributors. The findings indicate that both customers and distributors agree that the previously sales‐oriented posture of the industry is giving way to a more service‐oriented focus. Several problem areas are also discussed.