Avnet, Freescale Help Chinese Manufacturers Meet Competitive Pressures

By: Online staff — Wireless Design & Development Asia
(Top News, 28 Nov 2005)

Avnet Electronics Marketing, the largest operating group of Avnet Inc., has joined forces with Freescale Semiconductor to help Chinese consumer electronics manufacturers compete in an increasingly crowded market. During the last month, the supply chain giant and technology pioneer has held a series of solution seminars in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Fuzhou and Shanghai to support the drive toward more advanced products.

Industry sources predict that China's production of consumer electronics devices will top US$67 billion by the end of 2005, representing an increase of some 22% on 2004. However, the high growth rate has also brought increasing competition, prompting some manufacturers to improve their supply chains and shift research and production toward more advanced products in a bid to remain more competitive.

"Analysts suggest that China's electronics industry will use nearly US$60 billion worth of ICs this year, 94% of which will have been imported," said Raymond Leung, regional president of China, Avnet Electronics Marketing. "The Avnet and Freescale seminar series was designed to achieve two goals — help manufacturers choose the appropriate IC solutions for their products, and evaluate their supply chains to ensure that they support production rather than hinder it."

The seminars were designed to cover a lot of ground. The highlights included a ZigBee application and solution showcase, introduction to 8-/16-bit MCUs and DSCs, LDMOS, low G sensor application in portable devices, USB transceivers/chargers, i.MX home entertainment solutions, introduction to automotive total solutions, and total solutions for car MP3 CDs.

"China's electronics manufacturing industry has clearly moved beyond the stereotype of make-it-fast and keep-it-cheap. Today, China possesses an increasingly skilled workforce, a growing army of creative engineers and internationally recognized brands such as Haier, TCL and Lenovo," said Leung of Avnet. "Avnet Electronics Marketing is pleased to be playing its part in helping some of China's leading manufacturers enhance their processes as well as their products."

Avnet Electronics Marketing and Freescale are well placed to help Chinese manufacturers address the pressures that are building in the fast-growing but extremely competitive industry.

Avnet Electronics Marketing markets, distributes and adds value to a wide variety of electronic components, enterprise computer products and embedded subsystems, bringing a breadth and depth of capabilities that help its trading partners accelerate growth and realize cost efficiencies. Freescale provides original equipment manufacturers with chips to help drive advanced cell phones, manage Internet traffic and help make vehicles safer and more energy efficient.

Avnet Inc.