A traveler rents a car and refers to a dashboard GPS navigation system for directions. Before returning the car, he stops at a local gasoline station for fuel and slides his credit card into the automated pump. Meeting him at the return line, a rental car attendant enters information and prints out a receipt from a wireless terminal. A mechanic takes the car to the garage for emissions testing.

Manufacturers of machine tools, industrial controls, automated vending machines, motors, wireless scanners and terminals, and robotics make all of this possible. As a provider of products and physical value-added services to this growing industrial segment, Arrow Electronics sold more than $1 billion in components, computer products, and services to these manufacturers worldwide in 2000.

For industrial controls manufacturers, time to market and total cost of ownership are critical factors in determining their success in the marketplace. More than any other manufacturing segment, these products are everywhere in our daily lives. The gasoline pump that displays sales and quantities and communicates directly with the credit card company to complete purchases; the scanning device in a local grocery store that automatically enters the price in the register and adjusts the store’s inventory; and the candy machine that dispenses treats are all driven by electronic components and computer products. The pace of change in this growing industry requires the fastest and most efficient manufacturing, and that often means evaluating "make versus buy" options.

Arrow value-added centers provide programming, connector and cable assembly services, flat panel display integrations, and systems integration and configuration services–all of which are designed to help customers speed their time to market.

With the world’s broadest programmable products line card, world-class programming facilities, and technical experts, Arrow is a single source solution for programmable logic, memory, and microcontroller technology. With these technologies, the product’s features and performance are driven by software rather than hardware, and this software must be programmed into the device. More original equipment and contract manufacturers turn to Arrow as their outsourcing partner for programming than any other distributor. To maintain this position, we continue to make significant investments in device programming facilities and equipment. Whether in units programmed or revenues generated by programming, Arrow is the largest programmer of devices in the world and the first-choice partner for programming services.

The screen on the candy or ATM machine that displays immediate information is the result of flat panel display technology that instantly computes and displays data. Our flat panel display line card and integration services have made Arrow the leading distributor to support manufacturers that produce products with display screens. Arrow’s flat panel display integration services delivered more than 10,000 completed units in 2000, enabling manufacturers to complete installation of these display systems.

Arrow also provides connector assembly through its Connector Assembly Supercenter, a customized production facility that completed close to 2 million connector assemblies this past year. Our Assembly Management Services Center combines Arrow’s materials management expertise with the manufacturing competency of contract manufacturers. This center offers materials management, design for manufacturing, assembly, and in-circuit and functional testing. Assembly services provide a flexible manufacturing strategy that can support pre-production and production requirements.

Arrow Systems Integration Centers deliver complete design, customization, integration, assembly, and testing of computer systems and subsystems from entry-level to high-end platforms and servers. Our production teams also assemble various solutions for multiple interfaces and platforms. For host systems, we provide custom cabling and support, board and system-level modifications, configurations, testing, engineering change order notification, bar code tracking, and agency approvals.