(SDN) — DESIGN and manufacture of hardware products will never be the same again.
This prospect emerged after Arrow Electronics and Freelancer.com have partnered to build a new platform they dubbed ArrowPlus powered by Freelancer.com, which was planned to be “the largest electronics and electrical engineering services marketplace.
They launched ArrowPlus powered by Freelancer.com on March 14 that will provide and cater “to Fortune 500 companies and innovative technology creators to design and build hardware products through access to over half a million skilled electronic and electrical engineers.”
Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW) is ranked #113 in the 2018 Fortune 500 boosting a revenue of US$30 billion. Arrow has its own “proprietary Certified Engineering (ACES) network, a key differentiator in helping its customers win with technology.”
Freelancer comes with a reputation for being “the world’s best expertise in global services marketplaces” over 32 million users and more than 15 million jobs in 1,350-plus skill areas.
What ArrowPlus powered by Freelancer brings
In an email to SDN — Science and Digital News, Freelancer described the platform as one that “is to solve sophisticated technology problems spanning consumer electronics, transportation, healthcare, industrial, Internet of Things (IoT), telecommunications, biomedical, cloud security, firmware, hardware, and connected products in every industry.”
The platform offers services that aims to revolutionalize how hardware products are designed and manufactured.
Matt Anderson, chief digital officer (CDO) and president, Arrow Electronics, Inc., sees a bright future for the new engineering design platform.
“We anticipate in the future that up to 30 percent of R&D (research and development) spend could leverage a model where Arrow provides a technical concierge and project management to a vast network of high-end engineering talent,” he said.
Anderson enumerated what goes through the life cycle of hardware product development, such as but not limited to:
- Ideation and prototyping
- Analog and digital design
- Printed circuit board design
- Bill of Materials (BOM) part selection
- Custom requirements to product delivery
- Component consolidation and cost reduction
- Redesign for smaller size
- Documentation and translation
- Development of firmware, drivers and middleware
- Real-time embedded software development
- Integrated circuit design
- Manufacturing
Here’s some of the partnership’s contract “fine print:”
- Freelancer has built a co-branded marketplace for Arrow Electronics. The platform makes it easy for OEMs to post engineering projects, hire engineers, order components and manufacture from a single location.
- After the first six months from launch, there is a minimum volume of commitment of US$3.6 million GMV per annum at a Take Rate Freeelancer of 13 percent.
- The term of agreement is three years and will automatically renew for successive one year terms unless notice is given within 90 days of the end of the period.
- Arrow has the right to terminate the contract with 60 days written notice.
Arrow Electronics has more than 200,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers under its wings, guiding them in their innovation journey.
Matt Barrie, Freelancer.com CEO and chairman, welcomed the partnership with Arrow Electronics.
“This breakthrough strategic alliance with Arrow Electronics represents the first launch of Freelancer Enterprise. We are absolutely delighted that Arrow chose to team with Freelancer.com on this landmark initiative. Freelancer.com is the number-one marketplace for talent and skilled workers. We have seen
increasing demand to solve difficult and complex technology problems from larger organizations.
“For example, NASA and the United States Department of Energy are using Freelancer.com to crowdsource technology solutions. We are excited to form an exclusive alliance with the most trusted guide in technology creation, Arrow Electronics, to break down barriers for larger companies with more complex needs to utilize our platform to accelerate technology,” said Barrie.
The partnership looks to catalyzing a step change in R&D and cut times from years to months through access to a global network of highly diverse technical skills and reduce cost to market. (EKU/Freelancer.com)
Images through Freelancer.com
About Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW) guides innovation forward for over 200,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2018 sales of $30 billion, Arrow develops technology solutions that improve business and daily life.
About Freelancer ®
Eleven-time Webby award-winning Freelancer.com (ASX:FLN) is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted. More than 32 million registered users have posted over 15 million projects and contests to date in over 1,350 areas as diverse as website development, logo design, marketing, copywriting, astrophysics, aerospace engineering and manufacturing. Freelancer owns Escrow.com, the leading provider of secure online payments and online transaction management for consumers and businesses on the Internet with over US$4 billion in transactions secured. Freelancer also owns Freightlancer, a global enterprise freight marketplace.