Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1172746
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2019 methodology in which people can engage with us. Our goal is to be very in tune with what the possibilities are related to this objective. It defi- nitely changes over time. Matties: With the generational shift, I would think that you're seeing a new demand for dif- ferent types of content as well. What are the flavor differences that you're finding? Beeson: We're engaged in reviewing the abil- ity to have more voice interaction on our web- site. We've talked about a "Digi-bot" for some time. We're developing these tools now. We're also utilizing more visual features, not just vid- eos, but 360° images to enable visual product search. Those are a couple of examples of look- ing at our business evolving differently than what we did a few years ago and are enhance- ments to the foundation of our business and means of engaging us. Mobile is another prime example. How do we become more proficient in mobile? All of these things don't come with a guarantee, but it comes back to business readiness. What's a ver- sion of research and development for Digi-Key, which is predominantly a distributor? It's mak- ing sure that you're aligned with the user com- munity and well-positioned to support them. Johnson: Does that include providing user and customer feedback online to create more of a community? Beeson: We're looking at that and will have some aspects of that incorporated into our orga- nization. How does one do that? Right now, we have something called a tech forum, which is where we want the users to tell us what's on their mind. Sometimes, they're aiding others; other times, it's positive or critical feedback. But we want our users to have insight into the business to a much greater extent. We've had a maker site for about five years, and it's a great example for someone to engage us and pro- vide feedback, and in many cases, aid others in their development as well. Johnson: There have been some emerging com- panies in the past few years, thanks to a ubiq- uitous internet, making a go of parts defini- tions and libraries online. Their approach may be to change the distribution of technical con- tent or parts selection. How do you at Digi-Key see that changing your landscape? Beeson: That's another example of enhance- ment. In some cases, if that's a direction we want to go in or those capabilities are now available, we need to participate. In our greater umbrella of what we would deem EDA tools, we need to make sure that we're aligned with and supportive. You'll see a number of those different capabilities evolving for us, and some already exist for us within our site. Again, I don't think any website related to a distributor is purely related to time, place, and utility for a part number—including ours. It's so much more than that in today's world. The more rel- evance you have, the stickier you'll be to the user community. We're trying to make sure that we're aligned with that. Matties: You're primarily a distributor. Has there been any talk of becoming a component manufacturer? Beeson: We whiteboard everything. What do we want to be? What's our true value prop- osition? We currently represent 800 suppli- ers. Should it be more? Who has the appro- priate capabilities to provide a function? We go through that rationalization as to what is What's a version of research and development for Digi-Key, which is predominantly a distributor? It's making sure that you're aligned with the user community and well- positioned to support them.