01 November 2011
As the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products, RS Components serves 1.6 million customers worldwide. This figure is estimated at double the customer base of the company’s nearest rivals, reaching twice as many engineering teams globally.
Ensuring the right product offering is key to RS’s success. In practical terms, this means having the most comprehensive product range available to all customers on a global basis. To support this objective, over the past year RS has added 76,000 new products to its portfolio sourced from leading suppliers, growing the global range to over 550,000 products.
The global electronics market has on average grown at around twice the rate of global GDP during the past year. To capture this growth opportunity, RS adopted a strong customer-focused business strategy to offer the widest possible product range with the quickest delivery. Around 37,000 new electronics products were introduced during the year* from leading suppliers such as Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Panasonic, and TE Connectivity. This investment has driven a 60% growth in RS’s global semiconductor sales in 2011*, and a 30% growth* in the company’s overall electronics business.
Quick to recognise that technology enables enhanced relationships with customers, RS embarked on a strategy to connect with electronics engineers by creating an innovative online environment for sourcing information, tools and services, to provide a reliable support service at every stage of the design process. Since its introduction in July 2010, RS’s DesignSpark has become the fastest growing online community for electronics engineers, with more than 80,000 members now registered. In addition, DesignSpark PCB, the free online design software tool and the key driver to the site, has recorded more than 100,000 downloads since its launch, while there have been more than 30,000 downloads of RS’s free comprehensive library of certified 3D CAD models of electromechanical components. These tools have enabled RS to build a direct relationship with this important customer segment and drive additional sales through this channel.
RS operates an unparalleled global multi-channel service, with eCommerce at its heart, combining the Internet with the traditional catalogue; field sales, who understand customer needs; internal sales, who provide instant support for customers; cyber sales, via pro-active live chat; and eTech magazine, the company’s highly interactive publication which is available as an iPad app. eCommerce allows customers greater flexibility in the way they purchase their products, and greater convenience, helping them to find and buy the products they need. The new RS website, launched earlier this year, allows the customer’s entire search and navigation journey on the RS website to be tracked, and Search Engine Marketing enables that research and demand to be converted into sales.
RS’s new product introduction strategy is a vital component in the company’s growth, with thousands of new lines being launched from a broad range of leading suppliers over the coming months. By the end of December 2011, a further 25,000 new products will have been added to RS’s electronics portfolio.
Recent introductions include the 60 MIPS 16-bit dsPIC digital signal controller and PIC24 microcontrollers from Microchip, for high-end industrial and commercial applications such as servo motor control and solar inverters. Also available is Freescale Semiconductor’s range of Kinetis boards, general-purpose development systems aimed at a range of embedded applications, based on the company’s 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 based microcontroller series. Another new addition to the RS portfolio is a range of power management devices from iWatt, targeting leading consumer mobile brands and is a perfect example of the innovative new technology RS is bringing to market.l
Tel: 08457 201201
rswww.com/electronics
* Financial year 2011
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