Avnet has opened its largest IT services facility worldwide in the Columbus, Ohio, area, to provide complete IT services in one location for its OEM, system integrator and VAR partners.
The 580,000-square-foot CenterPoint Value-Added Services Center offers an all-in-one services model that includes engineering, integration, installation, product design, IT asset disposition, logistics, fulfillment, test and repair, recycling and remarketing. Other services include technical assistance via a call center, and maintenance and warranty services.
Avnet has also consolidated the number of its IT services facilities in the United States, from 17 to three, with CenterPoint as the flagship facility. The other two North American Avnet centers specializing in lifecycle services are in Atlanta and Dallas. The distributor also has lifecycle service centers in the Netherlands and Singapore.
The all-in-one model is expected to reduce costs and minimize risks while delivering savings in procurement time and minimizing downtime by managing every aspect of the equipment lifecycle. “The capabilities we now have under one roof in CenterPoint create a facility that has all the necessary skills and capabilities you need to manage the full IT lifecycle under one roof, and that is very unique in the industry,” said Mike Hurst, senior vice president of Avnet Services.
Lifecycle services is a very fragmented section of the overall IT industry, Hurst added. “Our ability to provide an end-to-end solution to our customers does a couple of things that are extremely important. It helps our customers reduce complexity, take out cost and increase time to market.”
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for our VAR partners because it helps them grow their business through helping their customers maximize the investments they’ve made in IT by providing complete end-to-end solutions,” he added.
The facility is tailored to support Avnet’s three primary customers—OEMs, system integrators and VAR partners. One of the biggest benefits is providing their customers with one partner to deal with for IT lifecycle services, instead of several partners, together with providing scale and consistency of quality, said Hurst.
The center supports specialized requirements for a variety of industries, including energy, government, health care and telecommunications, and technology areas, including big data, converged infrastructure, mobility and security. The facility holds several industry certifications, including ISO:14001, OHAS 18001, ISO:9001, ISO:13485, TL 9000, RIOS and R2.
Gina Roos, a Channel Insider contributor, specializes in technology and the channel.