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Jeff Ittel, EVPAccording to Jeff Ittel, EVP of Flip Electronics, the company works with product groups inside the factories of various organizations to understand which of their products have reached the end-of-life (EOL) phase. “Whenever a manufacturer creates products for the final run, they often make too much or too little of the estimated order. They take the product out of their pricing book, and it will not even be shown on the internet. Flip Electronics, with the help of its authorized suppliers, buys those products/ materials for its customers for a time when their need arises,” states Ittel.
When the company says it works with an authorized supplier, it signs a contract with them for all their products.
Flip Electronics goes above and beyond to help its customers in many ways, including scrubbing a customer’s bill of materials, researching their product, and analyzing its life cycle to detect its EOL period. Flip also detects when an upgrade is required and suggests strategies to ensure supply for the final term of production.
Flip Electronics, with the help of its authorized suppliers, buys the EOL products/materials for its customers for a time when their need arises
After understanding which product is obsolete, the enterprise stocks the product from the client and creates purchase packages. It lists that product to make the component visible through its website and several other inventory websites.
Flip Electronics’ efforts to extend the life of products and machine components have helped many companies continue their operation in their hour of need. In one instance, a leading global medical device manufacturer faced a significant increase in demand for ventilators owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. A substantial number of their ventilators had become obsolete over the past year, and the increasing demand made redesigning the devices challenging. When Flip engaged with the company, they started with a demand planning call. It analyzed the ventilators and estimated their annual usage, based on which Flip made some recommendations to the client. The customer then estimated its minimum device demand after incorporating Flip’s suggestion. Flip then leveraged its manufacturer to secure enough stock to fill their order and told their client that they would start receiving the parts within a week. As a result, the client avoided testing and approval expenses of $1-2 million, along with the device redesign/ upgrade time of 8-9 months.
Continuing such efforts, Flip Electronics aspires to keep growing and spreading its influence across the world. It hopes to continue investing in data analytics and increase its digital footprint and customer base in the obsolescence management industry. The company is developing creative inventory programs to help its customers and ensure that their products continue to stay relevant after reaching the end of their life cycle.
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Company
Flip Electronics
Headquarters
Roswell, GA
Management
Jeff Ittel, EVP and Jason Murphy, CEO, Bill Bradford, President and Rich Hines, CFO
Description
Flip Electronics is a semiconductor components distributor that provides obsolescence management to its clients by providing electronic components and aiding them to prolong their production cycle
