Welcome to Critical Links

Welcome to Critical Links, a new supply chain blog brought to you by Electronic News. For this blog, we’ve recruited some of the supply chain’s most influential executives who are truly linked into the market to contribute their views of the industry and its most critical topics — RoHS, distribution, WEEE, parts databases, inventory levels, pricing, China RoHS or whatever else comes up in this ever evolving business channel.

Our first two bloggers will be Jeff Shafer, senior VP of product at distributor Newark InOne,  part of global Premier Farnell plc, and Greg Frazier, executive VP of supply chain services, worldwide, at Avnet Electronics.

Jeff joined Newark InOne in 2005 with close to 30 years of experience in the electronic component distribution industry, serving in executive sales, management and product marketing roles. At Newark InOne, he leads product management, product data, pricing and customer segment strategy, and was instrumental in developing and implementing RoHS compliance initiatives for the company, customers and suppliers.

Greg serves as a member of the Avnet Electronics Marketing global executive team. A 30-year Avnet veteran, he is charged with designing supply-chain strategies for the company’s global suppliers and customers. He also has responsibility for Avnet’s global-accounts model and the business migration initiative, helping those customers who are transitioning their business to different global regions.

Come back to Critical Links often to see what these executives have to say about the supply chain and join the conversation by blogging back with your own comments.