“Now is the time for the electronics industry to stick together,” say Andreas Koch and Markus Renner, managing directors of the consulting firm Perzeptron. With MiG Stock-DB, they have developed a free platform where electronics manufacturers can offer excess stock and components they no longer need. A+B Electronic, Eckelmann and Phytec, as well as other electronics companies, have already pledged their support and uploaded components for sale. Perzeptron is now calling on other companies to participate.

The purchasing departments of electronics manufacturers are faced with a procurement situation constrained by allocation and supply bottlenecks. Precious time, effort and money are lost due to the difficulty of procuring components, not to mention the customer dissatisfaction caused by late deliveries. At the same time, companies have a sizeable amount of capital tied up in excess inventory that they have accumulated due to large packaging units, production order cancellations, or for other reasons. Perzeptron’s MiG Stock-DB addresses both these challenges: Surplus component stock is entered in the database and offered for sale. Using the availability check feature of the MiG – Materials Management in Balance software, the parts inventory can be displayed, and direct contact can be made with the supplier.

Pinpointing critical components, and selecting an alternate source with a single click
MiG is a docking solution for existing ERP systems that uses dashboards for purchasing, production planning, sales and management to provide a company-wide, transparent overview of customer and production orders, the purchasing situation and work in process. Since version 4.00, it offers a fully automated availability check for components. Users can see at a glance which components represent a risk to the production schedule of a manufacturing order. With a single mouse click, they can identify where an alternate source for the critical component is available, including the price and quantity. In addition to authenticated, direct connections to broadline electronic component distributors, it also directly linkes to catalogue distributors such as DigiKey, Farnell and Mouser. MiG also provides access to anonymous Internet search results, for example from Octopart. And now, components from the MiG Stock-DB are also displayed.

3-month free trial period for ERP add-on
The latest updated version of MiG – Materials Management in Balance will be rolled out to existing customers in the coming weeks. Companies that wish to sell their excess inventories and who do not yet have a MiG license can, on request, receive a free 3-month test installation of the intelligent ERP tool with a connection to their ERP system. This will allow them to also benefit from the availability check and other functions of the software. MiG is easy to install, poses no risks, and both administrators and decision makers can start using it immediately.

Registration and component upload in just a few steps
Using the MiG Stock-DB online portal, registering and transmitting the component data is done in only a few steps: Once the account has been activated, a template is available for download, which can be used to prepare the component data in the form of an Excel list for entry in the database. Uploading is then also done through the website. By registering the vendors, Perzeptron ensures that no agents or brokers use the tool. “We are making MiG Stock-DB available free of charge to promote solidarity in the electronics industry, something that is needed more than ever right now. We want to avoid unfair price markups, which happens worldwide, because certain dealers are exploiting the component shortage and the pressure on electronics manufacturers,” say Andreas Koch and Markus Renner, voicing agreement. That’s why they also ask all participating companies to apply moderate pricing to cover their costs and only small, reasonable margins.

Statements from some of the participating companies

PHYTEC:
“The current component shortage affects all manufacturing companies. We think it is important that we, as medium-sized companies, stick together in this situation. The original idea behind MiG Stock-DB came up in a conversation with Perzeptron and PHYTEC and we are happy to see it was implemented so quickly.”

Dagmar Sünner Head of Purchasing
PHYTEC Messtechnik GmbH

A+B Electronic:
“MiG Stock-DB is a fair platform for exchanging surplus components in the electronics industry. Suppliers and buyers benefit equally. That’s why we at A+B Electronic immediately pledged our support.”

Sven Kapmeyer, Commercial Management
Assmy & Böttger Electronic GmbH

Declines in sales of up to 25 per cent, empty order books and cancelled orders: the Covid-19 crisis is having a dire impact on many electronics companies. If you’re not in the medical industry, you need to cut costs hard. However, there are also opportunities. Take the time to optimize your materials management and order processing. Build transparency and a consistent data pool. Leave Excel lists behind. If this crisis has taught us anything, it’s to value our time.

Markus Renner argues that process optimisation is the secret to higher liquidity, shorter lead times and better delivery.
Read the full article in Electronics Sourcing UK – January 2021

Arrow Electronics and Perzeptron roll out material-planning optimization software

Includes optional inventory and pricing information from various component suppliers

Arrow Electronics and supply chain consultancy and software provider Perzeptron will supply Perzeptron’s MiG material-planning software (*) throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The move further extends Arrow’s capabilities as an end-to-end technology solutions provider. MiG is designed to be connected to existing ERP systems easily, within five to seven working days. It uses a common database for customer and production orders as well as materials, and provides them in separate views for purchasing, production and logistics, sales and management. This simplifies communication and coordination between departments, reducing lead times. Material bottlenecks can be identified quickly and rectified.

The MiG software has been developed to enhance the production process flows of contract manufacturers, OEMs and electronic manufacturing services providers. It helps to ensure that
materials are supplied optimally, reducing processing times and minimizing the amount of capital that a company has tied up in its production process. This improves the productivity and delivery
reliability of manufacturing companies. As part of the cooperation, MiG Advanced Edition will be enhanced to include direct links to Arrow and various other component distributors, providing users with easy access to component stock availability and pricing information.

Andreas Koch, managing director of Perzeptron, said, “The MiG functions for production process flows, material management and inventory optimization will provide significant benefits to
manufacturing companies, preventing capital from being tied up unnecessarily and improving liquidity as a result. We are very pleased to be working with Arrow to bring the benefits of MiG to an
even wider customer base.”

Matthias Hutter, vice president supplier and product marketing EMEA at Arrow, said, “Many people know Arrow for the support it provides during the ideation, design and specification process, but as a technology solutions provider, our service goes much further. This cooperation with Perzeptron is an example of how Arrow and its suppliers can add value throughout the supply chain, delivering improved efficiency and better utilization of resources.”

Interested parties who would like to make an appointment, or have questions, are asked to contact the Arrow team at mig@arrow.com.

* MiG = Materialwirtschaft im Gleichgewicht (Material Planning in Balance)

More information
https://www.arrow.com/mig

About Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW) guides innovation forward for over 200,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2018 sales of $30 billion, Arrow develops technology
solutions that improve business and daily life. Learn more at fiveyearsout.com.