RS has sponsored this article.
Allied Electronics and Automation Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas-based distributor of industrial automation and control products, electronic components, and electromechanical products, has changed its name to RS as part of a strategy to consolidate the product offer, service portfolio, and proven experience of its trusted global brands under a single, unified RS brand identity.
The move was announced in October 2022 as part of the company’s strategy to establish a better connection across RS Group’s products and services.
“When we looked at where we are positioned in a highly fragmented market, and as we have made some strategic acquisitions over the last five to six years, we identified an opportunity to be more consistent and transparent with our end-to-end industrial customer offering,” says Jessie Dearien, RS Vice President of Marketing in the Americas region. “We have a global offering that serves designers, builders, and maintainers of industrial operations, and this will clarify our proposition and value to the customer base we serve.”
RS sees this as a chance to increase its market share in a total addressable market of about $500 billion, which is highly fragmented and competitive. Dearien estimates the company currently owns about one percent of the market share with lots of potential for growth.
“How we serve and partner with our customers will remain the same. However, as we look toward our collective future, I see the opportunity for broader exposure and broader growth capability. We can use that to provide better access to our customers, particularly those on a global scale,” says Dearien. "Over the past few years, we've seen quite a bit of disruption in the supply chain, and we're already seeing trends of market consolidation. From our perspective, this is an opportunity to reliably serve that industrial customer from end-to-end.”
The company hasn’t just seen the consolidation trends, it’s been taking part. The 2021 acquisition of supply chain and asset management services provider Synovos (now named RS Integrated Supply) is one example. Before the name change, potential customers wouldn’t know these companies were integrated and that the products are complementary.
While the name change is significant for many reasons, it won’t affect the way customers currently do day-to-day business with RS. Customers can expect the same personalized, expert service and support under the new brand.
“Our stated objective is to be the first choice for the industrial customers we serve. And our goal through this change is to increase and empower our ability to do that in bigger, bolder, and more globalized ways,” says Dearien. “We appreciate the partnership we have with our customers, and maintaining this is of utmost importance and priority to us. We look forward to exposing them to more opportunities and options across the totality of the RS group from a global perspective. These kinds of things will be more easily connectable in the global marketplace under one name — RS.”
She says the name change is also a way to show current and potential customers that RS can facilitate better insights, better partnerships, and better support for industrial customers.
“A great example of this is our virtual technical solution center at our Fort Worth home base. Our center helps proactively solve problems based on customer needs and adds value to the product selection process by helping them understand the benefits and the trade-offs of their potential solutions,” says Dearien. “That's a tangible example in the U.S., which we’re now opening up to expand on a global scale. And when you look at how we continue to invest in developing and providing solutions to our customers globally, we are—through this name change—opening the doors to bring more of that at a global scale.”
For more information about RS in the Americas region, please visit us.rs-online.com or connect via social media on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. For more information about RS Group, please visit rsgroup.com or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter.