4 ms·

Bad handling of out of stock components aside, I'm routinely amazed at how effective DigiKey and Mouser are. I can order a cart of 40 different items, each cost

Bad handling of out of stock components aside, I'm routinely amazed at how effective DigiKey and Mouser are. I can order a cart of 40 different items, each costing $0.05, getting 1 or 2 of each, and somehow they manage to routinely deliver in 2 days exactly what I ordered. They must lose quite a lot of money on those R&D orders - there's just no way you can make money having someone hunt down a specific resistor, cut 3 of them off a reel and put them in a bag.

hef19898 5y ago
Ah, that depends on order volumes (overall, not average order size) and their warehouse set-up. And it depends a lot on how much you pay for shipment. That being said, there are automotive parts suppliers that ship, reliably, orders of 3 screws, two nuts and 4 washers. From the UK to the EU nonetheless. I could imagine either dirt cheap labor in well laid out warehouses or some form of automated picking solution.
- wallacoloo 5y ago
  > I could imagine either dirt cheap labor in well laid out warehouses or some form of automated picking solution. i'd love to see a proper dive/writeup from someone in-the-know. lacking that, here's a third, completely speculative theory: from what i hear, these big distributors are excellent at providing quick turnaround time. suppose that in order to guarantee this for large customers -- who presumably provide the bulk of revenue and who most value this service -- DigiKey must continually over-provision its operations. and so whenever there isn't a number of outstanding rush orders, there's extra staff available, at no marginal cost to the business, to assist the little guy.
LeonM 5y ago
This. It is astonishing how efficient they are. I sometimes feel bad having to order a 3 cent part at Farnell/Element14. Which is then packed and shipped from the UK to the Netherlands without any handling or shipping fee. Usually it is delivered within 1 business day. That said, they are treating a 3 cent part equal to a 100.000 dollar piece of equipment, which probably makes financial sense for them. Its the consistency that I, as a professional customer am willing to pay for. Farnell has become my one-stop-shop when it comes to parts and tools, I may be able to get something cheaper elsewhere, but the convenience and speed make up for that.

hef19898 5y ago

Ah, that depends on order volumes (overall, not average order size) and their warehouse set-up. And it depends a lot on how much you pay for shipment. That being said, there are automotive parts suppliers that ship, reliably, orders of 3 screws, two nuts and 4 washers. From the UK to the EU nonetheless. I could imagine either dirt cheap labor in well laid out warehouses or some form of automated picking solution.

wallacoloo 5y ago
> I could imagine either dirt cheap labor in well laid out warehouses or some form of automated picking solution. i'd love to see a proper dive/writeup from someone in-the-know. lacking that, here's a third, completely speculative theory: from what i hear, these big distributors are excellent at providing quick turnaround time. suppose that in order to guarantee this for large customers -- who presumably provide the bulk of revenue and who most value this service -- DigiKey must continually over-provision its operations. and so whenever there isn't a number of outstanding rush orders, there's extra staff available, at no marginal cost to the business, to assist the little guy.

LeonM 5y ago

This. It is astonishing how efficient they are. I sometimes feel bad having to order a 3 cent part at Farnell/Element14. Which is then packed and shipped from the UK to the Netherlands without any handling or shipping fee. Usually it is delivered within 1 business day. That said, they are treating a 3 cent part equal to a 100.000 dollar piece of equipment, which probably makes financial sense for them. Its the consistency that I, as a professional customer am willing to pay for. Farnell has become my one-stop-shop when it comes to parts and tools, I may be able to get something cheaper elsewhere, but the convenience and speed make up for that.