1. What is the most significant market shift you’re seeing in electronic component distribution in 2026? 

Dayna Badhorn, Regional President, Avnet Americas’: “One of the most significant shifts in 2026 is the tightening of supply and upward pressure on pricing as inventory levels normalize and demand patterns become less predictable. Extended lead times and periodic shortages are exacerbated by just-in-time ordering practices, which are depleting supplier inventory and straining capacity. In this environment, transparency, accurate forecasting and strong supply chain partnerships are becoming essential. Procurement teams that plan further ahead and clearly communicate their requirements are better positioned to secure capacity without creating excess inventory. Those that revert to past behaviors, such as double ordering, increase risk across the ecosystem — reinforcing the importance of more disciplined, forward-looking and collaborative supply chain practices.”

2. How are customer expectations changing, and how is your company differentiating through service or digital capabilities? 

Dayna Badhorn, Regional President, Avnet Americas’: “Customer expectations are shifting toward greater transparency, speed and predictability in an increasingly constrained supply environment. Avnet differentiates by serving as a critical enabler of innovation and resilient supply chains, connecting technology discovery, design enablement and data intelligence into a single, scalable platform. Through our global ecosystem and deep integration with leading design tools, we engage customers early in the design cycle — facilitating engineer‑to‑product team workflows — to help accelerate time-to-market with development kits, reference designs, embedded expertise and supply chain insights. This early engagement enables Avnet to strengthen long-term relationships, improve design win potential and deliver differentiated lifecycle value.

Customers rely on Avnet for product lifecycle visibility, counterfeit mitigation and real-time insight into factors such as pricing and lead time trends, supply-demand imbalances, ESG considerations and global disruption impacts. By bringing customer, supplier and market data together in one place, we enable faster, more informed decisions across engineering, procurement and product management, positioning Avnet as a data-driven expert at the center of the technology supply chain.”

3. What are the biggest operational challenges you’re working to overcome right now?

Dayna Badhorn, Regional President, Avnet Americas’: “A key focus is continuously improving efficiency and effectiveness across the business while ensuring we invest in the right areas at the right time. That means carefully evaluating where automation and AI-driven solutions can deliver meaningful impact, and where process discipline and simplification are the better answer. We’re committed to optimizing how work gets done, using our resources intentionally, and upholding high standards of productivity, quality and service.”