Season's Greetings and Best Wishes for 2014 from all at Trading Specialists

Photo Courtesy of The Marbecca Bakery

Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. We wish you well over the holiday season and New Year celebrations.

We will be closed for the holiday season from 12:30 (GMT) Tuesday 24th December 2013, reopening in the New Year at 08:45 (GMT) on Thursday 2nd January 2014.

We will be ready and waiting to receive your inquiries as normal and look forward to a busy and prosperous New Year.

Once again have a wonderful holiday season.

Join Us In Donating To The Philippines Typhoon Appeal

Millions of people have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan which struck the Philippines on 8th November 2013. 

Typhoon Haiyan was 300 miles across and was the strongest tropical storm to ever make landfall. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything and are in urgent need of emergency shelter, food and clean water.  

Photo courtesy of DEC

The Disaster Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said “The public’s reaction to the sheer devastation left by Typhoon Haiyan has been quite simply remarkable. We are so grateful for the huge volume of donations, which are vital to fund the work done by our member agencies’ emergency teams.”

The Cyclops Group will be holding a dress down day on Friday 29th November in aid of the Philippines Typhoon Appeal. All proceeds raised for the appeal are being used to deliver food, water, household items and tarpaulins to those affected by the typhoon.

If you would like to make a donation please visit the DEC website and click on the red 'donate now' button.

Cyclops Group Raises Money For The Breast Cancer Campaign Charity

This week The Cyclops Group held a charity bake off and a 'wear it pink' dress down day, all in aid of the Breast Cancer Campaign charity. 

At the beginning of the week we held a 'bake off' and raised an amazing £150. We had two days of volunteer bakers and a kind donation from The Marbeca Bakery, to help raise a whopping £121. We also raffled off a special collection of cupcakes, again donated from The Marbeca Bakery, and made £29. 

Then to round off the week, we held a 'Wear It Pink' dress down day, with members of staff wearing pink in support of the charity. We managed to raise a fantastic £110, meaning a total of £260 was raised for the Breast Cancer Campaign charity. 

A huge thank you to everyone who took part and to The Marbeca Bakery for helping raise money for this worthy charity.

To find out more about the charity, please visit the Breast Cancer Campaign website. 

Are You Looking for a Flexible Way to Sell Your Excess Stock?

In today's market, fluctuating component prices and inventory levels are a common occurrence. Just last year we saw semiconductor inventory reach an alarmingly high level, due to a surge in demand to facilitate an expected busy Christmas period.

Here at Trading Specialists we offer a full consignment selling option for your excess inventory. This is an ideal solution for when you have excess stock with a high residual value. 

Full Consignment Benefits

We market your excess stock globally to 16,000 OEMs, CEMs and distributors in 40 different countries, 24 hours a day. This enables us to get you the maximum value for your excess stock. 

We relocate your stock to our purpose-built ISO9001:2000 approved warehouse. We also cover the transport costs and provide insurance cover to give you complete piece of mind. 

You will retain full title over the stock until it's sold, meaning that you can have access to any unsold parts, at any time. We provide you with 24/7 access to your stock via our secure web based Consignment Partner Login area. 

You can even set your own price per part if you need to reach a target level of return. Or we can get one of our dedicated purchasing team members to asses current market values and attach a price for you.  

If you would like more information or would like to speak to a member of our team, give us a call on 01904 436 444.

Your Opinion Counts, Read The Results From The Trading Specialists Service Evaluation

We are thrilled to announce the results of the recent Trading Specialists (TS) Service Evaluation. You, our valued clients took time out of your busy schedules to give us your opinion on our services.

Thank you very much to everyone who took part, your feedback is really important to us. The results will help us to develop and improve our services in order to serve you better.

We have now collected and analysed all the completed surveys that we received and we wanted to share with you our main findings....

• All participants rated us as excellent or very good for competitiveness
• Relationship/Trust along with Competitive Bid were chosen as the most important features when selling inventory
• Professionalism was listed as our top rated service feature by participants, with 90% of clients giving us an excellent for this category
• 99% of clients said they would definitely contact TS again if they had an excess inventory to sell

 We Asked, We Listened, We Developed...

We have used the results from our findings to tailor our service offerings to better meet our customer needs. We have also redefined and developed our key service features.

Click to view our new 7 great reasons to choose Trading Specialists for the management of your excess, obsolete, slow-moving and EOL electronic components.

If you have any feedback or comments regarding our recent Service Evaluation then please let me know!  

Trading Specialists are Awarded ISO 9001:2008 Accreditation!

Trading Specialists are very pleased to announce that we have recently been granted renewal of the ISO 9001:2008 quality accreditation. We were previously recognised as ISO 9001:2008 accredited under the Cyclops Group but we are now honoured to be awarded this standard solely as Trading Specialists.

ISO 9001:2008 certification ensures organisations have processes and procedures in place which allow all aspects of their services to be the very highest quality. This demonstrates Trading Specialists' ongoing commitment to meeting these high standards when fulfilling clients requirements.

Trading Specialists were awarded the ISO 9001:2008 by the world’s leading certification, audit and verification organisation, SGS. SGS are a trusted leader in ISO certification standards, their recommendations ensure our operations are efficient and cost-effective, while complying with the requirements of the 9001:2008 Standard.

Follow the link to download our most recent ISO Certificate. 

Communication is Key to Avoiding Excess Inventory

In a recent article discussing excess inventory within the electrical sector, Bridget McCrea speaks to several industry experts and explains ways in which excess inventory can be kept to a minimum.

Her findings explain how having surplus inventory is something that companies really need to keep an eye on, as this can increase overheads and idle stock costs companies money. One of the easiest ways to manage surplus inventory is to ward it off all together. By ensuring solid communication with customers and vendors and with well-honed inventory procurement processes. Talk to customers about their procurement plans for the coming year, this can help with your own inventory strategy and avoid overstock.

Another tip is to pick up on key buyer trends, for example, if a new type of product is proving popular within the industry. This will ensure that you're not stocking up on 'older' versions of products.

Even though you may try your hardest to avoid excess stock, sometimes it is unavoidable. If the inventory is taking up physical space and/or tying up money that could be used to invest elsewhere, you need to find a way of getting rid of it quickly so the space and money can be put to better use. Besides the cost of capital, it is estimated that the cost of holding obsolete inventory can run as high as 3% per month

Selling the goods is a wise option, markets that you don't typically serve or other distributors and online buyers are all good selling targets.

The electrical sector is not dissimilar to the electronics industry and here at Trading Specialists we specialise in solving excess, obsolete, EOL and slow moving electronic components inventory problems.

We have various selling options available and your stock will be relocated to our purpose built warehouse, for which we cover the transport costs. One option could include the ability for you to retain full title over the stock until it is sold, meaning you can use any unsold goods at any time.

If you would like to send us your excess stock lists for a quick assessment and response, then please email us or visit our website for more information. 

Trading Specialists Easter Opening Times

Our UK office will be closed for the Easter holidays on Friday 29th March 2013 and Monday 1st April 2013. We will be open as usual on Tuesday 2nd April at 08:45 (GMT) for all your electronic component requirements. 

If you have any excess stock lists, send them over and we will work on them straight away after the Easter break. 

Trading Specialists Would Like to Welcome Stefan, our New Business Development Executive

Stefan Harland

Here at Trading Specialists we have seen a rapid growth within our sector and the business as a whole. As a result we have expanded our expert team to ensure that we have the resources to continue our efficient and prompt service. 

Stefan, our new Business Development Executive, joined the Trading Specialists team at the beginning of this year. Stefan will be responsible for building his own account base by sourcing new suppliers and buying their excess inventory to help release the tied up revenue. He will also be responsible for receiving your excess stock lists to see where Trading Specialists can help benefit your business.

Stefan has an extensive background in new business development, most recently within the IT&T industry as a Sales Manager of a direct sales team. Originally from York, he has lived and worked in Sydney and Singapore for the past 18 years. Returning to the cooler climates of his home town, Stefan joined the trading Specialists team here in York to help deliver our tried and trusted service.

A word from Stefan... “I am excited to start my career with Trading Specialist and I look forward to working with you on your electronic component excess inventory. I would like to wish everyone a safe and prosperous 2013”.

Do you have excess electronic component inventory? Then start by sending us your excess and obsolete stock lists, or for more information, give us a call on +44 (0) 1904 436 444.

IHS Report Chip Inventory at Semiconductor Suppliers Reaches an Alarming High

Amid weak market conditions, IHS report that chip inventory held by semiconductor suppliers reached an alarmingly high level in the third quarter of 2012.

Semiconductor revenue declined by 0.7 percent during the forth quarter of last year. These poor results came after inventory reached exceedingly high levels by the end of the third quarter of 2012. This amounted to 49.3 percent of total semiconductor revenue, which has been the highest since 2006.

During the final two quarters of 2011, stockpiles actually decreased seemingly showing a promising reduction. Yet, inventories steadily increased once again, reaching 47.5 percent of total revenue before hitting its peak in the third quarter of 2012.

These inventory levels refer to chip stockpiles specifically in the hands of semiconductor suppliers, not throughout the electronics supply chain. Supplier levels are then compared against combined revenue from a sample 75 semiconductor supplier companies. High levels indicate unsold stockpiles and also unrealised revenue tied up with the stagnant inventory.

IHS report that this high level of inventory was due to the expected high demand of semiconductors for products thought to have sold well over the Christmas season. With consumers still wary of the economic state, these sales never materialised and we only saw a 0.7 percent increase in consumer purchases two weeks prior to Christmas, the worst performance since 2008.

Do you have excess inventory? Trading Specialists can help! Part of the Cyclops Group, Trading Specialists can buy your excess, obsolete, end of life and slow moving inventory. We work with you to find the most effective solution to maximise your returns. With our service we will enable you to access this tied up revenue as well releasing space within your facility, meaning you can avoid inventory write offs.

To speak to one of our team please call us on +44 (0) 1904 436 444 or visit our website to find our more about our service.

Click here to read the IHS' full press release.