According to John Knight, Vice President of Knight Electronics/Orion Fans, EDS 2013 proved to provide an excellent venue for networking within the electronics industry, and it continues the highlight the trends in the ever-evolving electronics distribution industry. After the event, Knight had a chance to reflect on the event.
Q: In hindsight, what worked at EDS 2013?
A: I believe the all industry event [Mission Possible] and highlighted speakers continue to bring value to the overall week.
Q: What didn’t work?
A: I believe that the lack of visibility and access to attendees who only participate in the suites, or who piggy back on the show without contributing, make [the show] less effective than it could be. The overall cost of attending has also driven small distributors away when they could benefit from the interaction and networking.
Q: What was your highlight of the show?
A: For me, personally, it was winning a drawing [raffle prize] at the All Industry Event. I understand that it may be banned from next year’s event. Corporate wise, the highlight was, as it always is, being able to sit down with our distributor partners and review our past successes and strategize on the upcoming year.
Q: What you would like to see change in 2014?
A: Either completely abandon the show floor and find a way to get all participants to interact, or expand the show floor to get all to participate. The small number on the show floor, I believe, diminishes the effectiveness of the event. Also, finding a way to partner with a travel group that may be able to offer discount air packages might entice smaller distributors to return.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense