Most people don’t understand the important role distributors play in the supply chain, and particularly when it comes to electronic components. Most buyers just look at the price charged by manufacturers and see the generally lower price of goods direct from manufacturers as reason enough to bypass suppliers. Yet many end-users fail to understand that distributors actually add value to the products they ship. This is especially true when it comes to electronics components distributors.
Why Work with an Electronics Components Distributor?
For the most part, manufacturers don’t have the infrastructure needed to move the electronic components they make out to the people who need them. Manufacturers depend upon distributors to get their products to their end-users. An electronics components distributor’s job is to ensure electronic components are delivered in a timely manner. Whether this is to supply a retail store or to keep another manufacturer’s production lines moving, the distributor works to provide the correct parts to end-users and will have rigorous documentation policies in place to ensure they get to where they’re needed.
These distributors also ensure that the parts they source work with the equipment for which they’re bought. In the manufacturing process, certain electronic components will inevitably be more difficult to obtain, while other electronic components will be easy to find online. Items such as memory chips or computer processors have unique design features, for instance, so it’s especially important to source these electronic components from reputable dealers.
Sourcing through an authorized electronics components distributor can even help you find obsolete electronic components, and it’s the most common way companies source electronics. In fact, manufacturers often have specific electronics components distributors with whom they work closely to get their goods to where they belong. Such distributors become indispensable partners to manufacturers and end-users alike.
Benefits of Working with Distributors
Working with an electronics components distributor can provide a number of additional benefits. These include:
Experience
Those who trade in electronic components most often have deep knowledge of the parts they distribute. If an end-user needs a specific part, team members at an electronics components distributor can usually procure the needed components in the most efficient manner.
Genuine Parts
One of the most significant factors end-users should consider when ordering from reputable electronics components distributors is the issue of counterfeit computers and other electronic parts. When dealing with an authorized supplier, businesses know that the parts they get are authentic.
Manage Excess Inventory
Often electronics components distributors will purchase excess inventory from a manufacturer. This sometimes allows them to sell for even less than the manufacturer’s listed price.
Reduce Delivery Costs
Though prices for products tend to be higher from a distributor than from a manufacturer, electronics components distributors have the advantage of a fine-tuned logistical system that can lower shipping expenses and hasten delivery times, which can help compensate for the higher per-unit cost.
Reduce Inventory
The financial burden of keeping inventory that is not needed immediately can affect any companies’ bottom line. Electronics components distributors purchase in bulk and provide warehouse space so that end-users do not have to, which allows businesses to utilize resources more efficiently.
Ability to Buy Smaller Quantities
Most manufacturers have minimum order requirements, which for smaller businesses may not be cost-effective. Distributors allow smaller companies to order certain components on a smaller scale.
Timely Delivery
Most electronics suppliers use just in time (JIT) delivery to ship products out to users. This logistics methodology allows distributors to provide customers with the requested components quickly, when and where they need them.
Wider Variety
Normally, an efficient supplier will have an extensive range of electronics in its warehouse inventory. Even if they do not have an item in stock, electronics components distributors are part of a worldwide supply chain, which allows them to find hard to get electronic parts.
Direct Customer Support
One of the most important benefits that come from working with suppliers involves access to customer service. By purchasing through an electronics components distributor, buyers receive a more robust customer service experience. Authorized distributors often work in conjunction with the original manufacturers to:
- Assist customers with decision-making
- Provide customer support
- Resolve technical issues
Due to the fact that they offer a variety of products, they often serve as a contact point for technical and product support for multiple manufacturers. Partnering with manufacturers, distributors set up customer support centers in order to help resolve technical issues and provide an avenue for inbound sales.
Contact Solid State Inc. Today
Solid State Inc. is a leading distributor and supplier of electronic components for companies nationwide, offering services to a variety of market sectors. To learn more about our products and the manufacturers we carry, please contact us today.