RS Components (RS), an electronics distributor, has signed a global marketing partner agreement with German chipmaker Infineon Technologies to distribute the company's portfolio of semiconductors and other electronic components.
According to a statement, the agreement will enable customers around the world to purchase a huge selection of Infineon and International Rectifier products directly from RS.
RS's partnership with Infineon is an extension of the marketing agreement the distributor initially had with International Rectifier.
With the Infineon acquisition of International Rectifier, this agreement has now been extended to encompass the Infineon product range, says Brian Andrew, general manager of RS Components.
The chipmaker bought International Rectifier for about $3 billion in cash.
Infineon will get to increase its reach and access through the RS distribution footprint and RS will offer customers a wide range of semi-conductors across both the Infineon and International Rectifier ranges, says Andrew.
He points out since RS's global distribution business model is e-commerce based - its go-to-market strategy for Africa will happen in the same manner.
"There is no need to have a physical presence in each location due to RS's e-commerce capabilities." This therefore helps to mitigate the infrastructure challenge found in the African region, notes Andrew.
Besides the lack of infrastructure, due to government regulations or lack thereof, certain types of products are restricted from being transported across borders, he adds. In addition, there is also a lack of skilled technical people to offer advice on product selection.
However, as governments look to improve infrastructure and invest in the technology sector, they are quite extensive market opportunities in Africa, says Andrew.
In addition there is a move from technology firms to create new innovations and devices that will come from Africa and will contain semi-conductors and complementary components, he adds.
A number of foreign semi-conductor suppliers have also identified the growth potential in Africa making this market highly lucrative, concludes Andrew.
Share