Ed Smith, ERA CEO
Hello! Just a short time has passed since the national ERA Conference in Austin, where we hosted the event at a new venue, but still had the same great energy. Thank you to the ERA staff and volunteers for your time and effort. The sponsorships were sold out and the speakers were on point. The hotel has guaranteed that the elevators and hot water issues are being addressed. I look forward to seeing everyone in Austin next year at another great event.
Our attention now turns to the next big event in our industry which is EDS — it is Vegas or bust! I think this year EDS is very important as the industry is seeing very robust book-to-bill rates of 1.2 to 1.5 being reported, and this is being driven by markets such as industrial, medical, defense/aerospace, data centers and power. This year the conversation is about the art of the possible. How do we not build up dead inventory, while delivering the parts customers need? How do we maintain a strong backlog that they can build with all the parts available? Precise communication is necessary in these times as many things are moving quickly, like demand, inventory and what parts are not available to fulfill a complete BOM. All “legs of the stool” have to have tight communication and focus on lead time, pricing and quantities. The other big concern in a tight market is counterfeiting of parts and how customers fill the gaps in the supply chain.
This year we at ERA will roll out two new exciting programs. The first one will be a new set of TAM data broken down by area, product type and quantity. We are building a website so that reps can get the geographic data and manufacturers can get the same data as reps, plus the overall country such as the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The distributors will be able to see all the data across all regions. There are 28 columns of data so ERA is building a user-friendly website to make it into easily digestible information that will be of great value to all three legs of the stool. The second program is a formal ERA mentoring program that will help build connection and learning even further in our industry. I look forward to moving both of these programs forward and helping ERA show value to our member firms.
We at ERA look forward to seeing you all at EDS and working with you in Vegas.
Please stop by our booth in the Lily Ballroom and don’t forget that we have meeting rooms available for our members to use. It is also a great place to network with fellow members and have a cup of coffee and a snack. I can’t wait to see you all in Vegas and hear how the industry is moving during this new supercycle.
> From Austin to EDS: Strengthening the three legs of the stool
Ed Smith, ERA CEO
Hello! Just a short time has passed since the national ERA Conference in Austin, where we hosted the event at a new venue, but still had the same great energy. Thank you to the ERA staff and volunteers for your time and effort. The sponsorships were sold out and the speakers were on point. The hotel has guaranteed that the elevators and hot water issues are being addressed. I look forward to seeing everyone in Austin next year at another great event.
Our attention now turns to the next big event in our industry which is EDS — it is Vegas or bust! I think this year EDS is very important as the industry is seeing very robust book-to-bill rates of 1.2 to 1.5 being reported, and this is being driven by markets such as industrial, medical, defense/aerospace, data centers and power. This year the conversation is about the art of the possible. How do we not build up dead inventory, while delivering the parts customers need? How do we maintain a strong backlog that they can build with all the parts available? Precise communication is necessary in these times as many things are moving quickly, like demand, inventory and what parts are not available to fulfill a complete BOM. All “legs of the stool” have to have tight communication and focus on lead time, pricing and quantities. The other big concern in a tight market is counterfeiting of parts and how customers fill the gaps in the supply chain.
This year we at ERA will roll out two new exciting programs. The first one will be a new set of TAM data broken down by area, product type and quantity. We are building a website so that reps can get the geographic data and manufacturers can get the same data as reps, plus the overall country such as the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The distributors will be able to see all the data across all regions. There are 28 columns of data so ERA is building a user-friendly website to make it into easily digestible information that will be of great value to all three legs of the stool. The second program is a formal ERA mentoring program that will help build connection and learning even further in our industry. I look forward to moving both of these programs forward and helping ERA show value to our member firms.
We at ERA look forward to seeing you all at EDS and working with you in Vegas.
Please stop by our booth in the Lily Ballroom and don’t forget that we have meeting rooms available for our members to use. It is also a great place to network with fellow members and have a cup of coffee and a snack. I can’t wait to see you all in Vegas and hear how the industry is moving during this new supercycle.