It’s probably fair to say that Anixter is not a name everyone is familiar with. What does the company bring its customers in addition to being an international distributor?
Being a leading global distributor of communications and security products, electrical and electronic wire and cable, and products is merely the starting point of why our customers choose us as a business partner. Our customers today are in a tough spot. The business challenges they currently face are increasingly complex, and they typically have less time and resources to address them. We consult them on how to address those challenges through a combination of technology and tailored supply chain processes in an efficient, cost-effective, and scalable way. That’s what we bring to our customers and that’s what makes us different: a partnership where we provide technology-enabling solutions that address customers’ business needs in order for them to reach their organisational goals. Anixter isn’t a name that all companies are familiar with, sure, but once they know us, they stick with us.
Many companies claim an international reach, but what practical things does Anixter do to truly serve local markets?
Anixter does a great deal in the local market. In fact, we feel this aspect of our business is one of the most critical because, after all, people do business with people they know and trust. Our corporate philosophy suggests that above all, people come first. Yes, we’re international in reach, but we deploy local, in-country and in the local language and currency. We’re a part of the local community.
All of this translates practically into being able to bring the leading global technical solutions and products personally to the market, to act as business advocate for companies who need specification adherence across borders, and to bring business opportunities to our local installer and integrator partners. We do this while maintaining a personal and local understanding of our customers’ needs and goals, quite often with local inventory and certainly with personnel hired from the local talent pool.
Can you give examples of how the company provides added value to its customers?
We don’t manufacturer anything, so the only thing we have to differentiate ourselves from other distributors who ship product from a shelf is the service we can provide a customer.
The methods in which we provide that added service value includes our technical expertise, which results in consultative services that ensure customers are choosing the right products to solve their problems. We also own and operate a truly unique security and cabling Infrastructure Solutions Lab where we test the limits of a product’s capabilities and verify its reported performance. In addition, we offer Anixter University, a technical training curriculum that allows customers to retain and develop technical knowledge.
We promote business opportunity to our integrator partners through our knowledge of end-users’ local, regional and international projects. We provide a variety of financial payment options for customers to properly source and procure the products they need. We often interact with multiple departments within an organisation and therefore have a unique ability to facilitate interaction between disparate departments who are more often meeting at the IP network level.
We are very proud of those services, but by far the most valuable example of what we do for our customers is providing deployment efficiencies and cost avoidance with our supply chain solutions. Our goal is to always find timely, accurate and cost-efficient ways to deploy the products we sell rather than just taking them off a shelf and shipping them.
The electronic security industry is in the process of migrating to IP, but it’s probably fair to say that some installers have embraced this more than others. How are you helping them manage this transition?
Anixter is welcoming the change to IP. Changes like this are a part of our cultural make up. We feel that there is nothing as constant as change, that change equals opportunity, and opportunity results in growth. We have a strong history in acting as agents of change in the market, from helping to introduce low-voltage cable as an application into markets once dominated by a few companies, to developing internal purchasing standards for products that set the bar for industry standards bodies we all follow today.
Some installers have embraced IP faster than others, and there are certainly distinct layers in the installer market. To help them manage the transition, we’re using the same tools and methods we always have used in changes like this. We provide assistance and training in technology through our engineers and Anixter University; we promote new interactions with manufacturers, industry experts, consultants, trade organizations and end-users customers may need to connect with in order to be successful. We commit ourselves to understanding emerging technologies and standards through our Infrastructure Solutions Lab and in some cases help to shape those emerging standards.
In short, we bring order to what can seem like chaos to an organization or individual just entering the market. This all culminates in Anixter ipAssured for security solutions. Anixter ipAssured, an anchor of IFSEC this year, is a programme we’ve developed to help customers understand the technical and lifecycle requirements of an IP security network.
How does Anixter influence the product trends and technologies that it supplies?
With our Infrastructure Solutions Lab, we work closely with our partner manufacturers to communicate the technological needs of our customers. Through this unique relationship, we’ve seen product enhancements, new product introductions and new concepts that meet the specific challenges our customers face. The Lab’s engineers are also exposed to the latest technologies well in advance of market release.
We are also actively involved with emerging industry standards bodies such as ONVIF, which is dedicated to shaping the interoperability of IP security products. With these relationships, we are truly on the leading edge of technology with a goal of ensuring our customers receive the best products and solution for their application needs.
Looking ahead, where do you think the trends in electronic security technology are going?
With the shift to IP, non-traditional security companies are moving into the security space. Networking companies and electrical contractors are looking to expand into new markets and the natural progression for these businesses is IP-based physical security. Traditional security integrators will need to invest in education and training and recruit specialised staff to maintain their position in the market.
Another major trend in electronic security technology is convergence. To that end, we expect to see an increase in popularity of international standards bodies providing guidelines for the interoperability of IP-based physical security technologies.
As result, it can be expected that end users will increasingly call for comprehensive electronic security systems which include IP based video capture, infrastructure, access control, management and storage. Therefore, information technology and traditional security departments within organizations will find new ways to interact and accomplish corporate goals.
