Electronic components distributor Digi-Key said its North American sales in 2014 increased 11 percent to about $1.17 billion, while its total sales grew 13 percent to about $1.76 billion.
“It's an extraordinary time of growth in this industry," said Dave Doherty, executive VP of operations at Digi-Key. "Particularly here in North America, we're seeing a combination of market trends driving innovative new products that will literally change how we work and play.”
An increase in innovation driven by emerging technologies and greater demand for Digi-Key’s engineer-centric product distribution model help boost sales across the board, the distributor said.
Digi-Key said there was robust demand for pre-built modules and development kits built around single-board computers with other embedded technologies. There was also healthy demand for components that power Internet of Things (IoT) applications, connecting more products to the Internet. Such device-to-device connectivity is driven by advances in wireless, embedded, single board computers, sensors and motion control along with demand for cloud-enabled applications, the distributor said.
Chris Beeson, executive VP of sales and supplier management for Digi-Key, added that an increase in new product introduction (NPI) activity “lends itself extremely well to our model which is ideal for fast-turn production runs and high-mix, low-volume orders.”
The company also credits its strong performance to its “hybrid distribution” model, which offers a broad selection of in-stock components and a competence in high-mix, low-volume orders and next-day product delivery. The distributor said it has 1 million parts in stock and guarantees that all orders received before 8 p.m. CST are shipped the same day.
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