2011 Bishop Survey Ranks Heilind Best Electronics Distributor
for Second Year in a Row

For the second time in two years, Heilind Electronics was ranked first in overall customer satisfaction in a survey of electronics distribution customers conducted by the market research firm, Bishop & Associates.  The survey evaluated the top forty electronics distributors in North America. Survey participants rated distributors on issues ranging from quality of personnel, on time delivery, and engineering support to depth & breadth of inventory.

Heilind was rated best by both buyers and engineers and was judged to have the best Field Sales support as well as the best Inside Sales support. Heilind also received high marks for on-time delivery performance, breadth & depth of inventory, quote response, product sample support, overall ease of doing and the quality of its website. 

This year for the first time, Bishop also asked survey respondents to name their preferred distributor for connectors distributor.  Heilind was named by the greatest number of survey respondents as their preferred connector distributor, receiving nearly 40% of the votes and out-polling the number two most frequently named distributor by almost a 2-1 margin.

In addition to being ranked first overall, Heilind was ranked first in many significant service categories including:

• #1 Best overall distributor
• #1 Preferred connector distributor
• #1 Price competitiveness
• #1 Inside sales
• #1 Outside sales
• #1 Technical support and expertise
• #1 Overall satisfaction with Buyers

Heilind was also highly ranked in several other important categories:

• #2 Ease of doing business
• #2 Timeliness of quote response
• #2 Overall satisfaction with Engineers
• #2 Providing product samples
• #2 Value-added assembly services
• #2 Logistics & supply chain services
• #3 On-time delivery performance
• #3 Product line breadth
• #4 On hand inventory

Survey Participants

Survey participants included professionals from engineering, purchasing, operations, sales management, and general management who work for the electronics industry's leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers (CEMs), original design manufacturers (ODMs), and cable assemblers (CA).  Job function and company categories were represented amongst survey respondents in the following percentages:

Many of the companies responding to the survey are leaders in their respective industries. Responding companies included:

Survey Objectives

The objectives of Bishop's 2011 survey were to:

• Identify how the overall Electronic Distribution Industry is serving the needs of the customers.
• Establish an Industry benchmark from which we can evaluate individual company performance.
• Measure individual company performance in relation to major competitors and the Industry benchmark.
• Measure performance in selected service areas, identifying where customers believe improvements are required.
• Determine the most important criteria considered by customers when choosing a distributor.

Survey Methodology

The Bishop survey asked customers to indicate their level of satisfaction with a distributor’s performance in sixteen distinct areas. They were given the choice of six responses ranging from “Extremely Satisfied” to “Extremely Dissatisfied”. They were also given an option of “Not Applicable” for each question. They were also asked to respond to four fill-in-the-blank questions.

Respondents were given a list of forty distributors from which to choose and were asked to evaluate only those distributors with whom they were familiar and felt qualified to evaluate. They were not given an option to add distributors to their evaluations.

Survey Questions

The survey asked respondents to answer 20 questions:

1. What is your level of satisfaction with the BREADTH OF PRODUCTS/PRODUCT LINES that the distributor sells?

2. What is your level of satisfaction with the distributor’s ON-HAND INVENTORY – available for immediate shipment?

3. What is your level of satisfaction with the Distributor’s ability to MEET REQUESTED DELIVERY DATES?

4. What is your level of satisfaction with support in OBTAINING PRODUCT SAMPLES?

5. What is your level of satisfaction getting PRICE QUOTES back in a TIMELY manner?

6. What is your level of satisfaction with PRICE COMPETITIVENESS?

7. What is your level of satisfaction with TECHNICAL SUPPORT and expertise?

8. What is your overall satisfaction with the INSIDE SALES support of your business requirements?

9. What is your overall satisfaction with the OUTSIDE SALES support of your business requirements?

10. What is your overall level of satisfaction with the VALUE ADDED (connector assembly and cable assembly) services provided?

11. What is your overall level of satisfaction with the SUPPLY CHAIN and LOGISTICS PROGRAMS (just-in-time delivery, kitting, demand management, in-plant stores, etc.) offered by this distributor?

12. What is your level of satisfaction with the overall EASE OF DOING BUSINESS with this distributor:

13. What is your level of satisfaction with the ease of FINDING THE COMPONENT you want on the distributor’s WEBSITE?

14. What is your level of satisfaction with the availability of TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION on the distributor’s WEBSITE?

15. What is your level of satisfaction in PLACING ORDERS via the WEBSITE?

16. What is your level of satisfaction with the OVERALL USEFULLNESS of the WEBSITE?

17. In your opinion, which distributor is consistently the MOST PRICE COMPETITIVE? (Select only 1 from the list of selected companies.)

18. Who is your preferred distributor for connectors? (Select only one from the list of selected companies.)

19. In your estimation, what percentage of the time do these companies deliver on-time to your requested date?

20. In your estimation, what are the five most important criteria for choosing a distributor? Pick ONLY FIVE from the list below and rank from 5 (Most Important) to 1 (Least Important).
    1. Overall breadth of line card
    2. Inventory available for immediate shipment
    3. On time delivery to your requested date
    4. Sample availability
    5. Pricing
    6. Website
    7. Technical support
    8. Inside Sales support
    9. Outside Sales support
    10. Supply chain and logistics programs
    11. Value added assemblies
    12. Overall ease of doing business

Distributors Evaluated

Forty distributors were evaluated in the survey:

If you would like to purchase the full 2011 U.S. Distribution Survey results, email bishop@bishopinc.com or call 630.443.2702.