As the leading
provider of electronic products and services in Europe, Arrow's
local focus and presence has long been our strategy and strength.
Looking to the future, Arrow
Europe will continue to specialize in superior local service
while pursuing Pan-European opportunities that extend our
capabilities to meet the developing needs of customers and
suppliers across Europe. A unified strategy is essential to
our success, and our Pan-European leadership team is developing
and launching initiatives that capitalize on our strengths
across Europe to drive profitable growth.
Our strong performance in 2003, despite the generally weak
macroeconomic conditions in Europe, creates a firm foundation
for our future in the region. Our Central Europe business
closed 2003 as Arrow's most profitable operating group, with
a disciplined sales and marketing organization that tightly
manages costs and margin performance. Our Southern Europe
team gained share in critical markets and completed a consolidation
of supplier marketing, asset management, and logistics functions
that significantly increased productivity. In Northern Europe,
which includes the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries,
we expanded our sales resources while embarking on several
operational mprovements, including the transfer of the U.K.
logistics services to our Pan-European distribution center
in Venlo, the Netherlands. Arrow U.K. Components gained share
in critical markets and product segments, and Arrow Nordic
Components remains the clear number one provider in the countries
it serves, supporting a broad base of global and regionally-based
customers.
Arrow Europe will continue to specialize in local service
as we build our Pan-European systems and logistics infrastructure
to develop greater regional capabilities and economies of
scale. We will also build on local best practices and initiatives
to create opportunities in critical European end-markets.
Arrow Europe speeds toward the future with a powerful combination
of local solutions and the best practices and capabilities
of the leading Pan-European electronic components distributor.
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