As a 2023 CIO100 winner, Avnet Inc., the Arizona-based digital element distributor, has distinguished itself with groundbreaking tasks that leverage established and rising tech to up productiveness and effectivity, and to usually do issues in a different way. Avnet’s Design Hub is one instance.

In response to Max Chan, the corporate’s CIO, the availability chain and provide chain administration has come into stark focus in recent times. The truth is, extra folks have discovered about what the availability chain does—or doesn’t do—in gentle of widespread disruptions attributable to the pandemic. This situation pressured an organization like Avnet to provide you with an answer. 

Avnet Inc.

Earlier than the Design Hub, Avnet’s engineers needed to design options for purchasers in an remoted setting. The standard design course of entailed selecting a core element after which working with its crew of engineers to resolve what goes round it. This didn’t foster an environment friendly stream of communication. “We rapidly realized there was a chance for a greater, extra seamless expertise to permit the shopper to get extra concerned within the design course of, and provides us the possibility to supply one thing distinctive out there,” says Chan. “With the Design Hub, Avnet allows engineers to design, get a invoice of supplies, examine costs and availability, compile a quote, and make a purchase order all in a single, frictionless workflow.”

Product design made straightforward

The Design Hub gives 1000’s of confirmed reference designs, technical calculators and instruments. As such, clients are spoiled for alternative in terms of selecting the components they wish to use of their product design. However the portal is greater than only a listing of obtainable elements. Serving to clients discover the correct elements is a should. For Peter Robinson, VP of IT for the Americas and international functions, it is a important differentiator. “The explosion of the variety of elements on the market signifies that quite a lot of clients discover it tough to determine what elements work greatest collectively,” he says.

To handle this, an interactive whiteboard or canvas was developed the place clients can mess around with completely different elements and discover the perfect match for his or her distinctive necessities. From right here, they will ask Avnet engineers for design assist, or instantly place an order for the elements on their board after which construct a prototype. “By dashing up the design course of, clients can simply check out 20 or 30 designs in the identical time it could’ve taken to finish only one or two designs,” Robinson provides. “So we’re actually accelerating the innovation cycle for our clients, which clearly permits them to create their very own designs or use our reference designs.”

For Chan, it comes all the way down to making a single pane of glass that unifies information and presents clients with a whole view of the product. “Previously, an engineer would exit and speak to the shopper and present them how one can do one thing,” he says. “Now, clients are capable of entry the Design Hub any time. They’ll leverage the prevailing database of reference designs, or they will co-create with our engineers on-line with out having to shuttle an excessive amount of.”