Distribution Watch: Tech Data, Arrow Electronics, Avnet

Happy Friday! Happy Nov. 1! Happy I-have-too-much-candy-in-my-house day! Welcome to Distribution Watch, our weekly look at what’s going on the distribution space. This week we’ve got news from Tech Data (TECD), Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT), so steal a few Snickers minis from your kid’s Halloween booty and let’s get to it.

Tech Data: The global distribution behemoth has been honored as Zones’ 2013 Distributor of the Year for partnering with Zones to provide integrated technology solutions. The award was presented at the 2014 Zones Partner Conference, held in October in Seattle.

Zones, a single-source provider of IT solutions, recognized Tech Data for its engagement with Zones and for the best-in-class customer experience it provides to customers. This is the third time Tech Data has received the award from Zones.

Arrow: The Englewood, Colo.-based distributor has completed its acquisition of Computerlinks, a value-added distributor headquartered in Munich, Germany, with a comprehensive offering of IT solutions.

“The acquisition of Computerlinks supports our strategy to serve the data center of the future and strengthens our position in this rapidly growing segment,” said Michael J. Long, chairman, president and CEO of Arrow.

Computerlinks has operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Sales in 2013 are estimated to total approximately €700 million ($966 million, in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States). The purchase price is approximately €230 million ($317 million).

Avnet: Our friends from Phoenix recently celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Avnet Global Solutions Center, located in Chandler, Ariz., and offering IT capabilities and services including hardware integration, software configuration, packaging and logistics and systems maintenance, while delivering significant contributions to Avnet’s sustainability programs, according to the company.

This technology integration and logistics facility provides a wide variety of technical and consulting services. By working with Avnet, customers and partners can deliver complete custom computing and embedded systems using technologies from numerous manufacturers. The Avnet Global Solutions Center also enables a testing environment to ensure the performance of these solutions, and provides complete integration services and global delivery capabilities. The facility is certified to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 standards for quality assurance, and ISO 13485 standards for medical compliance. It serves as a model for seven other Avnet technology integration facilities around the world.

And that’s Distribution Watch for this week. Check back next week to see what we’ve scared up. Until then, don’t eat too much candy, and stay safe.