Speed. Flexibility. Risk Reduction. Visibility. Velocity. Efficiency. Transportability. Global Integration. These words represent just some of the demands of today's global supply chain for electronics manufacturing. Arrow Electronics powers this complex supply chain by connecting the technology solutions of our leading suppliers with the design and manufacturing needs of our more than 150,000 customers. Our customers are constantly looking for ways to speed their time to market with shorter design cycles, faster new product introductions, and lower-cost manufacturing strategies. Arrow services and solutions inject speed into the supply chain and get waste out of it.

This powerful supply chain produces technology products ranging from simple bar code scanners to worldwide telecommunications networks. Arrow solutions begin at the earliest phases of new product development and continue across the product life-cycle to manufacturing and end-of-life product management. Solutions and services extend across a customer's multiple manufacturing locations or partners across the globe.

At the very beginning of new product design, one of the inherent challenges customers face is the vast number of components with published technical specifications that may or may not be readily available as a product moves toward full production. Arrow combines on-site technical advice from our field application engineers with information tools, such as Arrow Risk Manager and Global Explorer^TM, to help customers assess the risk of their component selections. The early selection of the right components prevents costly redesigns and delays as the product moves to full production.

As a new product progresses to prototype testing and pre-production, Arrow solutions include prototype materials management and advance pipelining of inventory. As the new product development cycle ramps toward full production, customers plan manufacturing strategies that will deliver their products to their end-markets at the greatest speed and lowest cost. With increasing frequency, these strategies involve manufacturing in multiple locations or outsourcing manufacturing to an electronics manufacturing partner.

Today, it is not unusual for an Arrow team in one location to support the customer's design and then to work with Arrow teams in different locations to pipeline inventory and deliver components to multiple manufacturing sites. Increasingly, customers may also require support for the fast transfer of manufacturing to another site to respond to increasing demand for their products. Arrow manages the inventory pipeline, forecasts, and materials management services to prevent interruptions in the customer's supply chain and production processes.

During full production, Arrow's proprietary applications connect customers directly to Arrow's sophisticated and best-in-class system tools to solve the most pressing challenges in their supply chains. Arrow eCOMPASS provides an integrated forecast and inventory management connection that accepts electronic feeds from the customer's materials requirements planning system and automatically schedules materials for manufacturing. Arrow Collaborator delivers real-time visibility into pipelined and reserved inventory, including exceptions-based reporting that identifies potential problems in the customer's forecasting and materials planning.

Arrow's manufacturing support includes delivery of components to the production line at the moment they are needed. Vendor-managed inventory programs reduce materials receiving and inventory carrying costs. Product enhancement services, including cable assembly and programming, speed the customer's manufacturing process. As manufacturing progresses, customized component alert tools warn the customer when components used in production are approaching end-of-life so that Arrow and the customer can plan alternatives. At every point, Arrow's supply chain services are speeding time to market and driving increased profits for our customers.

The complexities of supporting global customers require a flexible and global organization that stands ready to serve customers across geographic boundaries. At the same time, our largest customer base continues to be the regionally based original equipment or contract manufacturer. Arrow teams are ready to serve customers and suppliers in every region with strategies tailored to the unique demands of their markets. Arrow Electronics speeds toward the future, powering the global supply chain for electronics manufacturing with the industry's most talented teams and integrated supply chain solutions.