Tackling 'Nomadic State' Of Manufacturing: VMI For Suppliers

ByDeborah Austin The Supply Chain Services unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing has expanded its vendor managed inventory (VMI) services upstream to include electronic component suppliers. The VMI services previously were offered to OEMs and contract manufacturers. To navigate the current "nomadic state" of global electronics manufacturing, says Avnet, suppliers using the VMI service would transfer components to an Avnet logistics center near point of manufacture. Avnet would handle global inventory balancing and planning, automatically delivering price and lead-time information, and consolidating the supplier's customer orders into a single pipeline. Other services include invoice/credit/collection, working capital management, export administration and freight tracking. Technology marketing/services company Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet Inc., which distributes semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components.