When You Should Choose Symmetry Electronics

With so many electronic component distributors out there, you would be forgiven for thinking they’re all the same. If a distributor’s only function was to check your BOM and see which parts they can supply at what prices, then we could replace our sales and support people with a database search. Lucky for them that’s not the case. The modern electronics distributor plays an important role in ensuring that your product is released on time and within budget. To demonstrate the value added by Symmetry, I will be looking at a few scenarios of when you should choose Symmetry as your distribution partner. We understand that your intellectual property is your competitive advantage in the market, so at Symmetry we are happy to sign a nondisclosure agreement for your product.

Early in the design phase

The earlier we are involved in the design process, the more value we can add. That’s why we love to hear from companies who are still in the drawing board phase. Let’s take an example: you know your product needs video processing and wireless communication, but you’re not sure which technology and which supplier’s part you will be choosing to do the job. If you come to us with your initial concept, our engineers and sales people can make recommendations on which parts to consider for your design. Suppliers also value the work put in by distributors, which is why many of them have design registration programs. This is a way for them to keep track of a design, and to ensure that you receive the best pricing for the parts. Think of it this way: a supplier will much rather give special pricing to a company that’s working with their distributor and will have a real demand for parts in future than to someone who is just buying a single part.

When it’s a new technology

We often get the situation where a customer has a competent engineering team, but they don’t have experience with a certain technology. With the rapid pace of development in electronics it’s impossible for your engineers to be experts in every technology, and it may not be affordable to hire a consultant. Symmetry’s application engineers can help your team to find the right development kits, examples and documentation to ensure they are off to a running start.

When you need the best support

Anyone who has tried contacting a supplier’s support team directly knows that it can be a long and frustrating process before you reach a person who is able to answer your questions. That’s because suppliers don’t make money from offering support, so there is always a shortage of support engineers. When an engineer contacts the supplier’s support team, they don’t know whether it’s someone working in their garage on a hobby, or designing a product for worldwide distribution. That’s where the Symmetry application engineers come in. They can help you with initial setup and most questions at first, and when you need more specialized support from the supplier’s support team, they can contact them on your behalf and ensure that you get the support you need. If you put yourself in their shoes, you can see why a supplier’s support engineer would rather respond to a question from a distributor’s application engineer, who they knows has already helped the customer with the setup and any simple issues and now has a legitimate problem that needs attention.

When you’re on a tight deadline

The tighter the deadline, the better it is to involve Symmetry as soon as possible. The sales and engineering teams at Symmetry have the benefit of seeing countless electronic products go to market. That’s why they are in a good position to point out any difficult areas in the development process that may slow you down if not handled correctly. While you are focused on getting your product through development, testing and certification, Symmetry can work with the supplier to ensure that you will have enough parts to meet demand when your product is released. Symmetry will only make money if your product is successful, so you can rest assured that we’re doing everything we can to help your team succeed.

Contact Symmetry Electronics at 866-506-8829, email us or start a live chat and we'll be glad to help you with your projects.