Electronics Supply Chain

Avnet adds Agilent CEO to board 7/17/2008

William P Sullivan has served as the president and CEO of test giant Agilent since March 2005.

Greenpeace calls out 3G iPhone, suggests toxic chemicals usage 7/10/2008

Greenpeace is once again taking aim at Apple’s iPhone handset, however, is doing so this time without teardown evidence. Basing its statements on information on Apple’s Web site, the environmental group speculates on the company's possible use of PVC and brominated flame retardants in the coming 3G model.

Intel sells Impinj RFID operation, deal expected to stimulate market 7/10/2008

The deal will see Impinj add to its existing UHF RFID portfolio of tag chips and fixed-reader products with Intel’s R1000 RFID reader chip technology. ABI Research calls the deal a “game-changing move.”

Pricing weakness at issue as Gartner reports top 100 OEMs bought 76% of semiconductors shipped in 2007 7/7/2008

While the top 100 OEMs spent $209 billion on semiconductors in 2007, Gartner notes that because many OEMs capitalized on low-priced semis, consumption did not grow as fast as revenues. “This pricing weakness will be an issue that semiconductor firms will need to continue to address. The industry's opportunity lies in enabling the branded electronics firms to experiment and develop innovative products quickly enough, thus facilitating niche markets,” Gartner’s Alfonso Velosa says.

Nvidia cuts estimate, expects up to $200M charge on product issue 7/3/2008

Nvidia estimates revenue could shrink by 20% in its fiscal Q2 and says it will take a one-time charge up to $200 million on costs and expenses from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebooks. The bad news sends Nvidia’s stock down more than 30% in afternoon trading.

Roles shift as the embedded-systems design chain disaggregates 11/13/2007

Roundtable discussion: What used to be a fairly linear design chain has morphed into a nebulous ecosystem, with shifting responsibilities and new complexities. EDN recently brought together a who's who of executives from this new world to discuss the situation.

Targeting Japan 11/6/2007

William Mitchell, chairman, president and CEO of Arrow Electronics, discusses the global distribution supply chain giant’s first Japanese subsidiary, how Japan differs from other parts of Asia, and the company’s strategy for the region in this one-on-one interview.

Distribution’s balancing act 10/30/2007

Executive Insight: Harley Feldberg, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing, discusses the Avnet Inc. operating group’s recent quarterly numbers, the distribution industry’s overall competitive landscape, and the global balancing act that the company uses to gain sales and market share in a challenging business environment in this one-on-one interview.

Better supply chain information, now what? 5/25/2007

The world’s largest distributors have the greatest information gathering network on the planet to predict upturns and downturns, but the missing piece is how far up and down?

New markets, new problems 5/18/2007

Top distributors Avnet and Arrow take the covers off the distribution business in developing markets in Asia and Eastern Europe.

EMS growth continues at double-digit rate 6/26/2008

While the ODM (original-design-manufacturer) sector continued to grow at the higher rate of 23% in 2007, the EMS (electronic-manufacturing-services) sector still accounted for more than 60% of the industry, growing at an annual rate of 17% in 2007 and generating $268.1 billion in revenues, according to recent research from IDC.

Application processors face falling unit prices 3/6/2008

Although application processors are increasingly important enablers of multimedia capabilities in high-end smartphones and feature phones, this market will face challenges over the next several years, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Ontario begins WEEE directive compliance 3/6/2008

Ontario, Canada, is implementing its own version of the WEEE (waste-electrical-and-electronic equipment) directive for the recycling, reuse, and refurbishment of certain electronics. The Ontario Electronic Stewardship (www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca) backs the plan, which should impact electronics design, just as previous versions of WEEE have in the European Union and Asia-Pacific countries.

EU ROHS exemption, definition changes to impact restricted substances, design requirements 2/7/2008

The EC (European Commission) is set to adjust the EU (European Union) ROHS (restriction-of-hazardous-substances) directive this year to reflect additional substances and changes to exemptions. The EC is examining the directive’s current 29 exemptions, plus an additional seven requested exemptions.

Arrow targets nontypical distribution with foundry play 11/8/2007

The NAC (North American Components) business of Arrow Electronics Inc is looking at distribution from a different angle. The Melville, NY, company recently established a relationship with IBM Global Engineering Solutions. The relationship couples Arrow’s custom-chip-design and -logistics capabilities with IBM’s foundry products and services.

2007 top 100 contract manufacturers 9/27/2007

Electronic Business offers up its annual accounting of the leaders in EMS (electronics manufacturing services) and ODM (original design manufacturing).

Market intelligence for the electronics supply chain 8/14/2007

Converge reports that activity in the DRAM market remains quiet; demand for older Intel CPUs is creating a supply shortage; and demand for notebook drives continues to grow.

Market intelligence for the electronics supply chain 6/15/2007

The Converge Market Intelligence team reports that the DRAM market is beginning to stabilize; shortages in low end processors will be common going forward; and quality is starting to become an issue in the IC market.

IPC: U.S. consumer confidence down, new electronics orders flat 6/11/2007

The industry group reports less-than stellar findings for the month of April, but said that expanding global consumer electronics demand will support continued growth in EMS industry sales into the foreseeable future.

VC investments hit highest quarterly level in 5 years, report says 4/24/2007

In the first quarter of 2007, venture capitalists invested $7.1 billion into 778 deals, the highest quarterly dollar amount since the fourth quarter of 2001, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data by Thomson Financial.