|
|
|
|
 |
   |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Our business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Through catalogues, e-Commerce and CD-ROMs we offer high service distribution worldwide for small volume purchases of industrial and technical products.
The range and availability of our products, our reliable service and the technical support that we offer makes us great value for our customers. History Radiospares was formed in 1937 in London selling spare parts for radios. Since then our product range has expanded considerably and we now supply over 300,000 electrical, electronic, mechanical, health and safety and information technology products to customers worldwide. Radiospares later changed its name to RS Components Ltd. In 1967 it was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Electrocomponents plc. In 1984 a distributor was acquired in Ireland. Continental European expansion began in 1990 with the launch of operations in France and Austria.Organic growth through the 1990s led to operations also being launched in Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, and the Benelux countries. The launch of RS Australia continued the Group’s worldwide expansion. Since then the Group has expanded into Taiwan, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Chile, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. RS Japan was started in 1999 at a planned cost of £30m. Allied Electronics was acquired in 1999 and trades in the USA and Canada. Structure Our Group structure comprises RS operating companies in 24 countries supported by a range of Group processes. This matrix structure allows us to use the same business model in all countries and allows all companies to benefit from the same expertise in product buying and selection, catalogue management,information services and supply chain support. Our Allied businesses in North America share a similar business model. Buying Our relationship with our suppliers is vital in allowing us to maintain the high standards of product availability and supply that our customers both expect and demand. Through our Product Management process we purchase over 300,000 products from more than 3,000 suppliers throughout the world. Our Supply Chain process is then responsible for ensuring that adequate stocks are maintained in all of our warehouses throughout the world. Selling The personal relationships that we build and maintain with our customers are vital. Our customers come from every sector of the economy. We use catalogues, e-Commerce and CD-ROMs to sell to over 1.5m customers worldwide. In addition, our highly trained staff are able to offer advice on which products are the best for a particular need and to ensure that they are delivered reliably and quickly. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our e-Commerce trading platform launched in 1998 now accounts for 17% of Group sales. Customers are able to purchase from websites in 16 languages in 66 countries. An improved version of our PurchasingManagerTM application was launched during the year and there are now 800 accounts using this application, designed to allow our customers greater control of their purchasing function. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
Where we are, worldwide
|
RS businesses: United Kingdom Rest of Europe France Germany Italy Austria Spain |
Republic of Ireland Denmark Sweden Norway The Netherlands Belgium Japan |
Rest of World Australia China Hong Kong Singapore South Africa Taiwan Malaysia New Zealand |
Philippines India Chile Allied Electronics: United States Canada |
