In distribution the situation is more intense than in almost any other field because it's such an information-intensive business. All of these demands make it difficult to set budgets and do planning, Bonomo says. When you're dealing with applications within a corporation, you have a much better chance at estimating the use of the organization. Boosting user friendliness has become a priority at Arrow, says Bonomo, whose background includes working on Wall Street. Financial companies spend a great deal of time and money making sure that information presented to users is comprehensible and clear.
Arrow wants to remedy that by improving computer and human interaction and interface design.
There's no room for error in the distribution world, nor for clumsily designed software. Customers simply have too many choices and too little tolerance, Bonomo says. Avnet had a similar concern and hired an outside specialist to design interfaces that were easier to use. But most IT projects are handled internally, and Bonomo sees retaining an IT staff as a significant challenge. Overall, his group has 45 people, about 20 of whom are directly involved in technology work.