As time-to-market windows close, distributors are making moves to fill design gaps left wide open by a shortage of engineers at the components suppliers who lack experience in new technologies. Shorter time-to-market cycles have also increased the need for these types of design services from third-party sources.

Designers are finding that more often than not distributors can match a supplier's expertise in both design services and technical support, while providing those services in close proximity to their manufacturing locations. And as engineers continue to need to get products to market quicker and for less cost, they are turning to the distribution industry for help.

Clearly, OEMs understand that beating the competition to market has become critical to success. Distributors must give engineers access to a range of design and prototyping services that accelerate the design stage.

Semiconductor specialists that deal with complex ASIC and FPGA designs have the right idea. They continue to expand their design services by providing multiple design centers led by experienced engineers.

But IC designers aren't the only engineers facing shorter cycles and a lack of expertise. A plethora of products call for time-consuming design cycles, such as computers, data storage solutions and even power supplies.

Avnet Applied Computing Group (AAC) is on the right track. It recently launched an engineering lab in Phoenix designed to accelerate product design and initial prototyping. There, engineers can build a prototype, determine how products interface with others and have access to AAC's reference designs, resources and engineers to accelerate their design phase.

What's needed are more distributors that provide these types of design labs for computer products as well as for other electronic components-labs that help bring technical expertise to design engineers who are juggling multiple projects and are faced with time-to-market pressures and ever-changing technologies.