By providing essential supplies and support, distributors of technology components and services are the engines that keep business moving for electronics innovators. However, in the past five years, these distributors have not only seen their customers’ needs change, but also experienced an expansion of their market to include new types of buyers. These two factors prompted a shift in buying behavior, which has ricocheted up and down the electronics-component supply chain.
Professional developers and designers are more dialed in than ever before and not afraid to shop around, while at the same time a new generation of makers and hobbyists are demanding more specialized parts and services. In such a competitive marketplace, distributors need to find new ways to serve customers that best suit their needs—a tall order in fast changing times.
A Changing Customer Landscape
Consumer demand for connected devices and miniaturized wearables has driven rapid growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector, with professional makers and hobbyists at the cutting edge of this burgeoning market. That’s because IoT is one of the most exciting and accessible opportunities for a broad range of solution designers, opening the possibility to bring profitable new products to the consumer market than ever before.