As a 2023 CIO100 winner, Avnet Inc., the Arizona-based electronic component distributor, has distinguished itself with groundbreaking projects that leverage established and emerging tech to up productivity and efficiency, and to generally do things differently. Avnet’s Design Hub is one example.
According to Max Chan, the company’s CIO, the supply chain and supply chain management has come into stark focus in recent years. In fact, more people have learned about what the supply chain does—or doesn’t do—in light of widespread disruptions caused by the pandemic. This scenario forced a company like Avnet to come up with a solution.
Max Chan, CIO, Avnet Inc.
Avnet Inc.
Before the Design Hub, Avnet’s engineers had to design solutions for customers in an isolated environment. The typical design process entailed choosing a core component and then working with its team of engineers to decide what goes around it. This didn’t foster an efficient flow of communication. “We quickly realized there was an opportunity for a better, more seamless experience to allow the customer to get more involved in the design process, and give us the chance to offer something unique in the market,” says Chan. “With the Design Hub, Avnet enables engineers to design, get a bill of materials, check prices and availability, compile a quote, and make a purchase all in a single, frictionless workflow.”
Product design made easy
The Design Hub offers thousands of proven reference designs, technical calculators and tools. As such, customers are spoiled for choice when it comes to picking the parts they want to use in their product design. But the portal is more than just a directory of available components. Helping customers find the right components is a must. For Peter Robinson, VP of IT for the Americas and global applications, this is a significant differentiator. “The explosion of the number of components out there means that a lot of customers find it difficult to figure out what components work best together,” he says.
To address this, an interactive whiteboard or canvas was developed where customers can play around with different components and find the best fit for their unique requirements. From here, they can ask Avnet engineers for design help, or immediately place an order for the components on their board and then build a prototype. “By speeding up the design process, customers can easily try out 20 or 30 designs in the same time it would’ve taken to complete just one or two designs,” Robinson adds. “So we’re really accelerating the innovation cycle for our customers, which obviously allows them to create their own designs or use our reference designs.”
For Chan, it comes down to creating a single pane of glass that unifies data and presents customers with a complete view of the product. “In the past, an engineer would go out and talk to the customer and show them how to do something,” he says. “Now, customers are able to access the Design Hub any time. They can leverage the existing database of reference designs, or they can co-create with our engineers online without having to go back and forth too much.”
