Purchasing - April 20, 2006

"This will be the year of the catalog distributor," forecasts Rob Birse, director of marketing communications for Allied Electronics, a catalog distributor in Fort Worth, Texas. Birse is optimistic because catalog distribution often outperforms the overall distribution market. While the overall revenue for the top 75 grew by about 3.

• Electronics and Technology Edition
• Electronics Leadtimes
• Leadtimes shrink
• Electronics Trends
• Commodity costs drive some connector tags up
• Analog chip tags to fall this year, despite strong demand
• At today's Cisco Systems, the fewer suppliers the better
• OEM Buying
• Strategic sourcing computes at Palm and Sun
• Top 75 Electronics Distributors
• Fewer sales needed to make the top 75
• Alphabetical listing
• China sales will increase in two years
• Astrex is tops in sales growth
• Genie Group remains tops in productivity
• Value-added services and new products drive growth
• Online buying sees growth
• The New Distribution Hot Spots
• RoHS could boost independents
• 2005 North American Rankings
• Trends in distribution
• Purchasers give distributors good grades

• Markets
• Logistics
• Capacity hits the Pacific—but is it enough?
• Tankers also report rates dropping
• Office
• Buyers leverage demand planning from distributors

• News
• Economy + Supply
• Economy + Supply
• Prices
• Few buyers expect component inflation

• News, Markets and Departments
• My Turn
• The automotive news isn't all bad
• Players
• Thomas Murphy, global procurement director, Instron
• Scale Up: Big Ideas in the Middle Market
• EMS firm focuses on customers, flexibility in its buying
• Strategies + Tactics
• Spinoff drives move from tactical to strategic
• Your Turn
• Global sourcing is tough with military-style products