Last autumn XP Power made a strategic decision on its EMEA distribution network. It recognised the need to enter into an agreement with a broadline specialist distributor. “We had too many customers and it was difficult to service them all,” says Steve Elliott, Executive Vice President, Europe for XP Power. “We needed to identify an opportunity that would help customers through the design cycle of their products. We were lacking in that space for all our customers.” With that in mind XP searched for a distributor that could bring a focus to demand creation, and support customers through the design process. In October last year XP announced Avnet Abacus as its new EMEA distributor. As Elliott recalls a lot of hard work was undertaken before and after the unveiling. Following extensive discussions XP directed 40 per cent of its customer base over to Avnet Abacus as its preferred distributor. It…