Nikkei Electronics Asia -- November 2009
Reports
Agilent to Penetrate Local Markets with RS Partnership

Agilent Technologies is aiming to expand its customer base in Asia; to help it achieve this, the company has appointed RS Components as a distributor for its test and measurement products in Asia. The partnership covers products such as multimeters, oscilloscopes and bench-top power supplies.

At the partnership signing ceremony, held recently at Agilent's facilities in Penang, Malaysia, Dennis Au, vice president for Agilent Technologies, said that although the company already ranks no.1 in nearly all the markets in which it participates, it is hoping to broaden the extent of its reach. 

"Traditionally, our strength has been in the supply of high-end test and measurement equipment to multinationals and global companies," he said. "We partner with these companies and work with them at their manufacturing sites; but beyond that, if we look at this market - especially in Asia - there is an emergence of local companies that we could have reached better."

Au added that with the globalization and proliferation of technologies in recent years, some technologies are moving from high-end applications to more generic applications. Therefore, there is also a need for the company to modify some of its leading-edge technologies and expand its applications for a broader range of customers.

For these reasons, the partnership with RS Components is seen as a natural step towards meeting these demands. "RS Components is able to work across geographic and business-sector boundaries purchase Agilent's products," Au said. In Asia, Agilent has 35,000-40,000 customers, who generate more than 40% of the company's revenue.

Gooi Soon Chai, president of Agilent Technologies Malaysia and Singapore, added that by teaming up with RS Components, engineers in Asia will have access to a wide range of test and measurement products from Agilent to meet the growing demand in these increasingly sophisticated markets. He believes the appointment will further strengthen Agilent's sales channel in the region as it enables the company to offer a complete range of test and measurement solutions to best serve the needs of its Asia customers.

Meeting Evolving Market Needs

RS Components is one of the largest global catalog and web-based distributors of electronic, electro-mechanical and industrial products. The group serves nearly 1.6 million customers in over 80 countries and regions around the world.

The Asia-Pacific accounts for about 10%, or #102 million, of the group's revenues, with annual growth of about 16.8%.

In the Asia-Pacific region, RS Components serves 100,000 customers annually, and handles about 80,000 orders a month.

It has 10 operating companies each in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, and around 1,000 employees. It maintains stocks of 100,000 products locally at its seven distribution centers, with 250,000 international range products on offer online.

Richard Huxley, APAC regional general manager of RS Components, describes the partnership as a timely and extremely strategic partnership for both companies as it enables them to meet the needs of an evolving market in Asia. "In the current competitive environment, convenience and high-speed delivery are more critical than ever to customers. Partnering with Agilent allows RS Components to offer advanced technological products quickly and conveniently to our customers, thus enabling us to continue playing a crucial role in meeting their product lifecycle management needs."

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