element14 Now Combines Commerce And Community For Electronic Design Engineers And Purchasing Professionals Across Asia Pacific
element14 now offers customers in Asia a different and improved experience as the first distributor to combine commerce and community with the best locally held inventory for engineers providing unique, in-region, access to 24 hour customer service and online technical support.
Premier Farnell plc, the global multi-channel distributor supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals worldwide, recently announced the launch of a new, market leading customer proposition in Asia offering a significantly expanded inventory of products relevant to electronic design engineers, next-day delivery in Asia Pacific and an enhanced range of services, under the name element14. The unique fusion of commerce and community, signals a new era for component distribution in the region and is based on extensive customer research. element14 offers the best inventory for engineers in Asia, with access to an unrivalled breadth and depth of the latest technology products.
From today the Group's businesses located in Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand will be known as element14 and will offer customers and suppliers a multi-channel, multi-currency, multi-language way to source their product needs, quickly and easily. In addition to locally based sales and technical teams and state of the art service centres across the region, the newly enhanced eCommerce websites offer speed and ease of search to access the best product offering for engineers and buyers alike. The transactional websites integrate seamlessly with the Group's global online community portal (www.element14.com) - the place where engineers the world over go to collaborate, connect and access the latest production information, tools and services, all backed up by online technical service from our engineering teams 24/5. This latest transformation follows the launch of element14 websites in Thailand, Taiwan and Korea in August 2010.
Named after the 14th element in the periodic table, Silicon – the fundamental building block of modern electronics – the launch of element 14 delivers a first in Asia's electronic components distribution industry – blending community and commerce into one integrated business operation through the power of the Internet, able to satisfy customer demand again and again through superior inventory and logistics.
Meanwhile in Europe and the USA, the Group's Farnell and Newark businesses continue to increase their focus and development of the element14 community as the leading information portal for design engineers around the globe.
Harriet Green, Chief Executive Officer, Premier Farnell plc, said: "The world is changing, and new technology innovation is driving the pace of change. We are constantly listening to the needs of our customers and will continue to invest and evolve our multi-channel approach globally to meet their needs by offering the best support for engineers and purchasing professionals globally, accelerating change and challenging the traditional ways of working. This latest change in Asia represents another major step forward for our rapidly expanding business in the region"
"Electronic design engineers and purchasing professionals anywhere in the world can connect with us at any time through multiple channels to source the products and information they need. Our element14 community, an industry first, is the place where engineers can go to access information, download software, collaborate and share design challenges, test and review the latest technology. We are adding functionality and tools all the time and attracting over 75,000 visits a week now," she added.
About element14
Worldwide, element14 is the first collaborative community, research portal and eCommerce website for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts. The website provides product data, design tools, technology information and top brand components to seamlessly facilitate the design process; users can consult industry experts and collaborate with peers around the globe. element14 online Community is sponsored by Premier Farnell plc. For more information, visit www.element14.com.
About Premier Farnell
Premier Farnell plc is leading the way in the high service, multi-channel provision of essential products, information, software and technology solutions to electronic design engineers, maintenance and repair engineers and purchasing professionals globally. Its differentiated proposition includes 32 local language transactional websites, and the critically important element14 eCommunity for design engineers – an industry first (www.element14.com). With sales last year of £795.3m and underlying profits of £54.8m the Group distributes its comprehensive portfolio of products and services throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, supported by a global supply chain of over 3,500 suppliers and an inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet its customers' needs. Recently awarded Platinum status by the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index the business takes its CSR commitments very seriously.
While global in scope, Premier Farnell recognises the individual needs of each market and has continued to internationalize its model accordingly, trading locally under different brand names. Its primary electronics businesses trade as Farnell in the UK, Europe, Newark in the US, Canada and Mexico, and element14 in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and New Zealand. In Brazil the operation is known as Farnell Newark. For more information, visit www.PremierFarnell.com.
SOURCE: Premier Farnell plc