"Our Marketplace is perfect for those hard-to-find, niche products"

Recently, DigiKey announced that it expanded its supplier portfolio by more than 340,000 products in the first half of 2024. What portion of this expansion is attributed to automation products?

DigiKey's Automation & Control business unit continues to be a growing piece in DigiKey's product portfolio. With the recent expansion of Schneider Electric, Sick, Rittal, and several other key suppliers on the global market, DigiKey has increased our breadth and depth of product across the board. We have expanded in areas such as robots, drives, PLCs, motor starters, cabinets, sensors, and more. DigiKey continues to pursue more product offerings in automation to better serve our customers.

How is the Marketplace being received by customers in the automation sector?

There are some really great features for customers looking to purchase products through DigiKey's Marketplace program. Our Marketplace is perfect for those hard-to-find, niche products that may not find their way into standard product offerings. One great option is the ability to source more custom products. From custom AMR platforms complete with 6 axis robots to large motors or even highly specialized sensors, our Marketplace program enables customers to source their products directly from the manufacturers and DigiKey simultaneously. Another great selling point is the sustainability potential of the program. Products are drop-shipped from the manufacturer to the customer. Rather than flying to the US, and then back to Europe, the customer can receive the product directly.

With product shipping on the Marketplace handled by the supplier, what advantages does this offer to DigiKey?

Even with DigiKey's long-standing stocking strategy for all the customer's needs, there are still niche products that the customer needs that can be difficult to plan for. There are also some very large products that a customer may need, such as large motors or cabinets that are too large to stock for extended periods of time. With the Marketplace program, we can make the connection between the customer and the manufacturer and get them the products they need when they need them.

Could you explain the "Ship from DigiKey" program in comparison?

For 50+ years, DigiKey has been a leader in electronics distribution and is known for getting product into customers' hands faster than anyone. We have always done this from one central, remote location in the US. All product is brought in, stocked, and shipped from the same location where we have 278,709 sq. meters of usable warehouse space. All products are picked, packed, and shipped from our Thief River Falls warehouse. We utilize UPS, FED Ex, DHL, and many others, to ship more than 25,000 orders daily.

How do you support small and medium-sized businesses in selecting the right automation components and systems for their specific needs?

We have a one-to-many approach for all our customers. We want to provide them with a frictionless digital experience that saves them time and allows them to focus on designing and building. Our value-add programs benefit our customers, such as the Digi-Spool program, which enables our customers to order cabling in the lengths they need with all manufacturer-supplied certifications on a spool. Customers no longer need to order a 1000-meter spool when only 250 meters are needed. With Digital tools such as APIs, Punch-out catalogs, conversion calculators, and more, customers can order from DigiKey in a way that works best for them.

What role do partnerships with manufacturers and developers play in your business model to offer customized automation solutions?

At DigiKey, we partner with the top manufacturers in the business. Working side-by-side with our supplier partners, we can identify high-running products, their associated products, and recommended inventory levels. We also utilize these partnerships to help customers with their design needs. Our partners are the experts in their field and products. When necessary, we can connect the two to ensure the customer has the kind of purchasing experience they deserve.

What is the current supply situation?

We are a long way from where we were a year ago. Supply chain issues have, in most cases, resolved now. We see lead times returning to historic norms, inventory levels increasing, and product availability getting back to where it needs to be.

What measures do you take to ensure the availability of the products you distribute?

To be honest, it's a bit of a complicated recipe. We take a lot of variables into account. We work with our supplier partners to get their top-selling product history, look at lead times, customer purchase behavior, inventory recommendations, and a few other factors. As I said, it's a bit a complicated, but we have a world-class team that looks at this data every single day.

How quickly can you respond to specific requests or issues, particularly regarding product availability and technical support?

We have an extraordinary team of technicians, engineers, product managers, purchasers, customer service representatives, and more positioned all over the globe. Typically, a customer with an issue can get support within 12 to 24 hours, if not immediately. We also have a TechForum that allows our customers to self-serve or ask questions of the community to find answers to their problem. Our TechForum is a great resource for customers that have a technical question and need answers right away.

What trends do you see in automation, and how are you preparing for them?

We continue to see labor shortages on a global scale. To stay competitive and continue to meet production demands, manufacturers are now looking at automation as the way forward. From large scale manufacturing to small do-it-yourself operations, automating processes has become a necessity to meet demand. DigiKey has been working with our supplier partners to create a campaign of "Making Automation Simple." To do this, we are partnering with our supplier partners to create tools and resources that allow customers to create end-to-end automation solutions tailored to their application. From single supplier solutions to multi-supplier coordinated solutions, DigiKey is looking to create a system that will allow customers, from beginners to advanced installers, the ability to self-serve and get their applications off the ground.

DigiKey at the SPS 2024: SPS 2024: Hall 10.0, Booth 430