Avnet Introduces SolutionsPath Advisor™

Avnet Technology Solutions, the solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), will assist value-added reseller (VAR) partners in the U.S. and Canada with the business planning needed to develop new practices through strategic, consulting engagements. Avnet’s new SolutionsPath Advisor™ is designed to help partners develop market specialization through consultative guidance based on benchmarking, subject matter experts, industry best practices and Avnet’s market knowledge. SolutionsPath Advisor engagements result in detailed business planning roadmaps, enabling partners to grow their businesses through specialization in markets served by Avnet’s data center focused technology practices in networking, security, storage, and virtualization, as well as its government and healthcare vertical market practices.

Partners participating in SolutionsPath Advisor work closely with Avnet’s team of business development experts, who leverage an intuitive, online assessment model to accelerate the joint planning process. The findings of these assessments are used to create customized strategic business plans. These plans detail actionable steps partners can take to achieve market specialization and the resources Avnet and suppliers have available to assist partners in achieving their long-term goals. Additionally, the plans provide partners with financial modeling to accelerate their return on investment in new practice areas.

"Specialization presents significant growth opportunities for partners with proven expertise,” said Colin Blair, director of solutions development, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. "However, the planning process for creating a new, specialized practice is complicated, time intensive and often overwhelming. Avnet created SolutionsPath Advisor to help partners through the complex research, evaluation and planning phases that are part of creating any new practice. SolutionsPath Advisor helps our partners understand how they can fine tune their focus and investments into new practice areas to reach their goals and succeed in specialized markets.”

"In all my years in the channel, this is the first time I’ve actually felt like I have a true partnership with a distributor,” said Gary S. Sharp, vice president of sales and marketing, Premier Technologies. "Avnet cares about my business and growth, and listens to what we need. Their team doesn’t try to shoe horn in ideas that they have instead they collaboratively formulate ideas with us through consultative engagements like SolutionsPath Advisor. Avnet understands industry best practices and knows what resellers need to be successful. Avnet has been critical to our success, and we’ve continued to grow our pipeline even during the recession, which is a direct reflection of our partnership with Avnet and the power of SolutionsPath Advisor engagements.”

In addition to SolutionsPath Advisor, Avnet also provides a variety of SolutionsPath services and resources to help partners achieve market specialization. These include sales and technical experts to assist with solution design and consultation to reduce practice startup costs; SolutionsPath™ Playbooks – online sales toolkits that provide a blueprint of what to sell in key technologies and vertical markets; comprehensive training with universities programs, internships and certification courses; and on-demand virtual demonstration capabilities.

To watch a short overview online for SolutionsPath Advisor, please visit https://www.brainshark.com/avnet/SPA.

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About Avnet Technology Solutions

Avnet Technology Solutions is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. As a global technology sales and marketing organization, Avnet Technology Solutions has sales divisions focused on specific customer segments and a select line card strategy enabling an exceptional level of attention to the needs of its customers and suppliers. For fiscal year 2009, the group served customers in more than 30 countries and generated US $7.04 billion in annual revenue. The group’s Web site is www.ats.avnet.com.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology in the world. Avnet accelerates its partners’ success by connecting the world’s leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers and providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 27, 2009, Avnet generated revenue of $16.23 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.