Established in 1979, Rapid Electronics are a UK-based, digital franchised distributor of electronic components and consumables to the technology industry - from start-ups to leading global enterprises.

Forty-three years ago, as a small catalogue business predominantly selling through-hole components to the education sector, Rapid evolved its STEAM products to include ranges such as Robotics and Test and Measurement. We have transformed the company, now operating as a franchised electronics distributor with a digital focus and technical competence to back it up. Rapid values its heritage but leaves behind the "independent" practices with a new level of ambition. We are grateful for our past because we understand where we are today through Rapid's evolution with the change in technology.

Committed to bringing tomorrows possibilities to life, Rapid focuses on being an innovative and exceptional corporation that constantly looks for ways to push the company to its best. To assist our suppliers and customers in the best way possible, we have worked vigorously on our technical and operational business foundations. Our CI and 6S programmes have delivered breakthrough changes to our distribution reliability, with an average of 98.2% of orders shipped out on time eachday. Our operations team mantra is "zero carry overs" without fail, when we promise dispatch the same day, we mean it.

Innovation

We provide accurate stock availability, lead times, and competitive prices direct from the manufacturers, bringing offline manufacturers into the digital world with our magnifying lens on quality and compliance. Rapid consistently looks for dynamic ways to make products available to surpass future technology and supply chain needs, optimising stock availability through demand planning to help customers avoid price increases and shortages. Rapid’s product range is no longer limited to Rapid part numbers, with overall access to circa 500,000 skus of instant pricing, stock availability and lead-times. We set ourselves challenging internal targets to maximise supplier on time performance and purchase stock on behalf of customers to help them avoid any potential price or availability risks.

A key enabler is that our employees are empowered to make quick decisions as our customers require fast responses. Let us know what you want us to do for you, and we will always find a way to help.

For tomorrow

In the past, our journey had led us to become an online generalist, but today our work helps facilitate an exciting and focused future as a technology specialist. Rapid’s recent investment in Warehouse Management Software creates a digital operations platform to enhance customers access to supply chain history and product information such as conformity, batch codes and country of origin. Rapid has transitioned to a digital franchised electronics distributor with the accuracy and reliability learned from being a High Service Level distributor.

Operational excellence

Why strive for good if we can be great? Our team push harder and faster to exceed the expectations of our customers. Growing through technology shifts and volatile market pressures, we have come out stronger, showcasing 99.9% accuracy rate. Since the Pandemic, we have been more flexible, with an agile workforce, and ultimately migrated to a digital first mindset, with our human resources focused on our business customers. We have raised our ambition to deliver faster improvements and results through this revolution using the Great Place to Work people programme to build on employee involvement in our business planning and achieving an 81% engagement score, meaning we are in fantastic shape to meet customers’ needs with care and pride in what we do.

Optimism in times of uncertainty

Product allocation, availability, price instability and demand will continue to be challenging in 2023, and we understand the uncertainty some may feel. At Rapid, we are confident we can make a positive difference to our customers and that our teams are motivated to find a solution. Our diverse mix of customers means there are opportunities everywhere. We speak to over 750 customers each week and ship an average of 1500 orders a day to over 60,000 customers worldwide per year. We welcome new and existing customers to contact us to share their challenges, as we are big enough to help, small enough to care and fast enough to win.