For Arrow Americas Components, 2000 was a year of continued expansion and change. The acquisitions of Wyle Electronics in North America and Dicopel in Mexico expanded both the size of our customer base and our regional presence in growing markets. Favorable industry conditions, combined with our customer segmentation strategy and expanded design and supply chain management services, drove an almost 60 percent increase in sales year over year. Serving five countries with eight customer-focused businesses, Arrow Americas Components offers the broadest range of products and services tailored to distinct customer segments.

From 1998 when we realigned our organization around specific customer segments, to the 1999 launch of Arrow/Bell Components and Arrow/Richey Electronics, to the creation of the Arrow/Wyle Communications Group in 2000, we have aligned our organization around how customers want to buy rather than how we want to sell. Focusing on distinct segments has enabled us to offer tailored services and products that customers value and will pay for. Our profitable sales growth and increased market share in the aerospace and military markets, contract manufacturers, and OEMs of every size and location is a direct result of designing our service models around their particular requirements.

In 2000, our acquisition of Wyle Electronics created an opportunity for us to increase our focus on the networking and communications segment. With the constant changes in technology and the need to introduce new products to market quickly, these customers need technical experts to speed up their design cycle. Combining the best of our two companies–superior design and technical support from Wyle and best-in-class materials and supply chain management from Arrow–significantly strengthened our ability to assist our customers from concept design through to production.

Throughout 2000 we continued to use technology to drive productivity and customer satisfaction. By year-end, purchasing professionals at more than 1,000 customer sites relied on our e-compass supply chain management service to forecast material needs, to pipeline inventory, and to plan and schedule product delivery. Registered users of arrow.com PRO-Series logged on to the Internet for self-service ordering and delivery tracking. Integrating Internet capabilities into our core business gives our customers more choices. They can research components, place orders, and perform other inventory functions on the Internet and still work with their Arrow sales and engineering team on complex engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing solutions.

Matching our model of service to the unique requirements of our customers generated organic growth in sales and profits for Arrow Americas Components. Delivery of innovative and distinct services and solutions for each customer segment will continue to be our strategy.