Avnet Design Services Introduces the Avnet Design Service Provider Program; Focused Network of Board- and System-Level Providers Gives Customers a Time-to-Market Edge.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2002

Avnet Design Services (ADS), the technical arm of Avnet Electronics Marketing, announces the Avnet Design Service Provider (ADSP) Program, which delivers engineering solutions to allow customers to get their products to market faster. This program has pooled top engineering design service companies in North America to provide customers with superior board- and system-level solutions. Customers seeking third party design assistance can now gain access to a select group of pre-screened and certified Design Service Providers through ADS.

Building on Avnet's proven track record of enabling customers throughout the design cycle, this focused network of board- and system-level providers expands Avnet Design Services' already strong offering in component-level design services provided by ADS field application engineers and ASIC and FPGA design centers.

"As a result of design complexities, designers often do not have the in-house expertise or the resources to bring a product to market in the time required," explained Jim Schaeffer, director and vice president of Avnet Design Services. "ADS, through a combination of its Avalon Reference Design System(TM) and Design Service Providers, can offer a more comprehensive time-to-market solution to designers."

The Avalon Reference Design System is a robust collection of modular and compatible hardware, firmware, IP cores, applications programs, device drivers, development tools and test equipment used by designers to create reference designs and development platforms that dramatically speed time to market. All Avnet Design Service Providers are pre-screened and certified and are uniquely qualified to provide customized customer solutions that are created using the Avalon Reference Design System.

"We have done the legwork for our customers by screening and selecting the best engineering solution providers," said Phil Heine, director of the Service Provider Program. "These third-party service providers, coupled with Avalon's proven hardware and software platforms, will give the customer the edge they need in the product development race. Once designers have used the Avalon Reference Design System to prove out their architecture, they can use one of our approved Service Providers to complete the design and get it to market in record time." Visit Avnet Design Services' Web site at http://www.ads.avnet.com/.

The Avnet Design Service Providers are being selected based on their hardware and software expertise in areas such as networking, communications, embedded systems, analog, and digital signal processing. Avnet RF & Microwave's new business unit, Wavelength Design Solutions (WDS) assists customers with incorporating wireless technology into their end products. For additional information regarding WDS, please visit http://www.avnetrf.com/wds or call 866/AVNETRF.

About Avnet Electronics Marketing

Avnet Electronics Marketing is the largest operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT), one of the world's largest technology marketing and services companies. Avnet Electronics Marketing distributes semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components from leading manufacturers. The company markets, inventories and adds value to these products and provides world-class supply-chain management, innovative, fee-based supply network integration/management services and solutions, and engineering design services. Avnet EM serves customers in 63 countries. The company's Web site is located at www.avnet.com.

AVNET is a registered trademark of Avnet Inc. AVALON REFERENCE DESIGN SYSTEM is a trademark of Avnet Inc.