The Michigan-based company has 10 sales offices in cities across the United States serving more than 5,000 OEMs; maintenance, repair and operations companies; and R&D organizations in such areas as the automotive industry, e-commerce, integrated supply programs and electronic data interchange. Executives say about half the company's customers are OEMs. R&D and service/maintenance organizations make up the balance.

Among the services RS Electronics provides are preassembly of wire harnesses and cable assemblies for speedy customer installations, assembly services to customer specifications, just-in-time inventory-management programs, and scheduled deliveries to help customers increase productivity and minimize inventory.

The company also boasts extended sourcing from more than 2,500 manufacturers. Recently, RS Electronics signed an agreement to distribute Agilent Technologies' line of test-and-measurement products in North America.

Other manufacturers serviced by RS Electronics include 3M, Duracell, Honeywell, Precision Electronic Components and Tyco Electronics.