Home: Issue 1 2013 › Ascending the market
Ascending the market
06/03/2013 | Channel: Engineering, Automotive, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Logistics / Packaging, Technology
Rebound Electronics has bucked the trend for its sector and seen steady high sales for several years
“Rebound Electronics has been providing electronic goods and services for more than a decade,” begins regional sales director Mike Fitzpatrick. “Initially set up as an independent distributor, the Rebound Technology Group is now made up of several complimentary group divisions that offer an extremely well rounded range of services. Within the group we hold over 50 franchises and have in-depth value engineering and marketing capabilities. Added to our traditional offering of best in class shortage and obsolescence mitigation, this is a highly effective combination.”
Many component manufacturers today are investorowned and, since the recession, have accelerated their product rationalisation programmes to focus on items with the highest returns and profit margins. This has led to many product lines being either discontinued or, increasingly, de-emphasised despite their ongoing demand. In the case of de-emphasis, manufacturers do not need to commit to end of life or last time buy commitments, which compounds the problem.
Rebound Electronics has stepped in to help many companies overcome these issues. “The market has been stagnant and, in some areas, has contracted over the last two years.” Mike says. “End customers have been extremely unwilling to commit to schedules long-term and this has given their manufacturing partners some serious challenges. We have been able to help many of our customers through supply issues by bridging the gap until alternative solutions can be found. In the case of passive and electromechanical products, we have also value-engineered solutions with our own lines. Overall we have made the most of the recent market conditions and have bucked the negative trend.”
Alongside this business stream, Rebound Electronics also provides a range of new product kitting and component consultancy services that give its portfolio a market-leading diversity. It understands that every client is different and so works closely with customers to tailor every contract to the end user’s specific need. As a result of its excellent customer and shortage management services, Rebound Electronics has achieved sales of approximately £80 million per annum for the last three years. This is counter to the general market trend of peaks and troughs.
The organisation itself is global with 27 offices located across 16 countries: the UK , Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, the US , Canada, Hong Kong, China, and South Africa. In total Rebound Electronics caters to 1500 regular clients, with notable customers including many of the Prime aerospace and defence contractors. Many of its strongest partners are fellow companies from the SC21 programme.
The SC21 supply chain enhancement initiative has been crucial in helping Rebound Electronics achieve its impressive results during the past few years. Mike talks about Rebound’s involvement: “When we decided to go for SC21 recognition it was purely for practical reasons. At the time, we had reached a critical stage in our growth where processes and resources ceased to become scalable. We recognised that, in order to continue growing and maintain a continuous sustainable improvement, we needed to change some of our processes. SC21 and AS 9120 (Mil/Aero standard for a distributor) were identified as complimentary standards that would give us the tools required to continue expanding without compromising customer service.”
In combination they have changed the way Rebound Electronics operates. Sales and delivery figures highlight these improvements. In 2008 the company shipped 48 million components across 16,000 customer orders with 98.2 per cent of those orders being error-free; in 2012, 105 million units were processed from 35,000 orders with 99.1 per cent of those orders being error-free. Despite the incredible rise in component and order numbers, SC21 has helped improve the company’s overall accuracy and reliability. In June 2012 the company attained SC21’s Silver Award and remain the only electronics distributor to achieve this.
Importantly, the programme has affected Rebound Electronics’ entire organisation and not just its aerospace work. “Rather than put the aerospace and defence industry into a special category, measuring it differently to the rest of our business, we very deliberately rolled out all of the principles to all of our customers,” explains Mike. “Every statistic and metric that we publish is measured across all 1500 regular trading customers and also includes a further 500 spot-buy clients that use us from time to time. That is why we are so proud of the improved statistics. Every single one of our customers benefits from the improvements we have made to achieve the Silver Award standard.”
Building on its present success, Rebound Electronics is looking positively towards the future. It has recently launched a solid state lighting subsidiary called Freeway Lighting Solutions, providing manufacturers world-ukwide with high quality LED solutions, whilst ongoing expansion of the company’s battery division means improved support for clients looking to migrate from NiCad and Nickel-metal hydride chemistries to lithium-ion and other lithium derived battery and battery pack solutions.
“Our long-term ambition is to continue improving by building upon an undeniably sound platform,” concludes Mike. “From aligning our franchised lines with customer product developments (NPI) all the way through to resolving shortage or obsolescence problems with a completely secure process, our success relies upon a consistent approach to business and constant focus on customer satisfaction. In five years time we want more strategic customers that understand and take full advantage of the entire range of Rebound Technology Group offerings.”
Rebound Electronics
Employees 260
Products Including, but not limited to: Semiconductor, passive and electromechanical components/ancillary equipment
Many component manufacturers today are investorowned and, since the recession, have accelerated their product rationalisation programmes to focus on items with the highest returns and profit margins. This has led to many product lines being either discontinued or, increasingly, de-emphasised despite their ongoing demand. In the case of de-emphasis, manufacturers do not need to commit to end of life or last time buy commitments, which compounds the problem.
Rebound Electronics has stepped in to help many companies overcome these issues. “The market has been stagnant and, in some areas, has contracted over the last two years.” Mike says. “End customers have been extremely unwilling to commit to schedules long-term and this has given their manufacturing partners some serious challenges. We have been able to help many of our customers through supply issues by bridging the gap until alternative solutions can be found. In the case of passive and electromechanical products, we have also value-engineered solutions with our own lines. Overall we have made the most of the recent market conditions and have bucked the negative trend.”
Alongside this business stream, Rebound Electronics also provides a range of new product kitting and component consultancy services that give its portfolio a market-leading diversity. It understands that every client is different and so works closely with customers to tailor every contract to the end user’s specific need. As a result of its excellent customer and shortage management services, Rebound Electronics has achieved sales of approximately £80 million per annum for the last three years. This is counter to the general market trend of peaks and troughs.
The organisation itself is global with 27 offices located across 16 countries: the UK , Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, the US , Canada, Hong Kong, China, and South Africa. In total Rebound Electronics caters to 1500 regular clients, with notable customers including many of the Prime aerospace and defence contractors. Many of its strongest partners are fellow companies from the SC21 programme.
The SC21 supply chain enhancement initiative has been crucial in helping Rebound Electronics achieve its impressive results during the past few years. Mike talks about Rebound’s involvement: “When we decided to go for SC21 recognition it was purely for practical reasons. At the time, we had reached a critical stage in our growth where processes and resources ceased to become scalable. We recognised that, in order to continue growing and maintain a continuous sustainable improvement, we needed to change some of our processes. SC21 and AS 9120 (Mil/Aero standard for a distributor) were identified as complimentary standards that would give us the tools required to continue expanding without compromising customer service.”
In combination they have changed the way Rebound Electronics operates. Sales and delivery figures highlight these improvements. In 2008 the company shipped 48 million components across 16,000 customer orders with 98.2 per cent of those orders being error-free; in 2012, 105 million units were processed from 35,000 orders with 99.1 per cent of those orders being error-free. Despite the incredible rise in component and order numbers, SC21 has helped improve the company’s overall accuracy and reliability. In June 2012 the company attained SC21’s Silver Award and remain the only electronics distributor to achieve this.
Importantly, the programme has affected Rebound Electronics’ entire organisation and not just its aerospace work. “Rather than put the aerospace and defence industry into a special category, measuring it differently to the rest of our business, we very deliberately rolled out all of the principles to all of our customers,” explains Mike. “Every statistic and metric that we publish is measured across all 1500 regular trading customers and also includes a further 500 spot-buy clients that use us from time to time. That is why we are so proud of the improved statistics. Every single one of our customers benefits from the improvements we have made to achieve the Silver Award standard.”
Building on its present success, Rebound Electronics is looking positively towards the future. It has recently launched a solid state lighting subsidiary called Freeway Lighting Solutions, providing manufacturers world-ukwide with high quality LED solutions, whilst ongoing expansion of the company’s battery division means improved support for clients looking to migrate from NiCad and Nickel-metal hydride chemistries to lithium-ion and other lithium derived battery and battery pack solutions.
“Our long-term ambition is to continue improving by building upon an undeniably sound platform,” concludes Mike. “From aligning our franchised lines with customer product developments (NPI) all the way through to resolving shortage or obsolescence problems with a completely secure process, our success relies upon a consistent approach to business and constant focus on customer satisfaction. In five years time we want more strategic customers that understand and take full advantage of the entire range of Rebound Technology Group offerings.”
Rebound Electronics
Employees 260
Products Including, but not limited to: Semiconductor, passive and electromechanical components/ancillary equipment