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Avnet Inc. is getting into the broker business after all.
Responding to pressure from dozens of OEM and EMS customers trying to unload their surplus parts, Avnet is developing an excess- inventory exchange on its Web site, EBN has learned.
"I never thought I would say this, but Avnet will launch an exchange where our customers and suppliers can buy and sell excess inventory," said Steve Church, co-president of Avnet Electronic Marketing in the Americas. "Every day I hear from customers who have a surplus of inventory, and they want us to take it back. We want to help our customers, but I can't say yes to every request."
The excess-inventory exchange will be part of Avnet's new e- marketplace Web site, which the company plans to kick off in May. Details of the exchange are still being worked out, though the site is expected to operate as a neutral marketplace for components held on consignment.
"Avnet will not take possession of the inventory, but will provide an exchange where buyers and sellers can find each other," Church said. "An e-market is just an electronic version of what we have done for the last 40 years. I like to keep things real simple."
Avnet has spent more than $10 million so far on its e- marketplace, building a portal to various online sourcing tools. The site will offer services in addition to the exchange; for instance, tools that notify customers when suppliers change their manufacturing processes, or that track product life cycles and suggest replacement parts when components are placed on an end-of-life list.
"Avnet continues to look for white spaces in their available market to attack," said Steven Fox, an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in New York. "This may be one of the opportunities."
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