Avnet Technology Solutions Adds Industry Certification from the National Retail Federation to Bolster Partners’ Market Expertise

Avnet selected as the first and only distributor to help resellers obtain the NRF Foundation Professional Retail Business Credential

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avnet Technology Solutions, the IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), today announced that it has joined forces with the National Retail Federation (NRF) Foundation, the world's largest retail trade association. As part of Avnet’s commitment to provide partners with end-to-end, progressive training on vertical markets, Avnet will now help prepare qualified U.S. value-added reseller partners to obtain the NRF Foundation Professional Retail Business Credential. Additionally, Avnet is now qualified in the distribution industry to proctor the exam for this certification, which measures and validates reseller partners’ knowledge of key retail disciplines.

“The NRF Foundation’s Retail Business Credential is the industry standard for assessing a business partner’s expertise in the retail market”

“Avnet’s vertical market strategy provides our reseller partners with an end-to-end, multi-phased educational process to gain the skills needed to successfully pursue market opportunities in highly-specialized industries,” said Michael Houghton, vice president of Vertical Market Solutions for Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. “We will now be preparing our partners to attain retail industry certification, which will be the first of several new vertical market education offerings from Avnet. With the NRF Foundation Professional Retail Business Credential, our partners will be able to demonstrate that they have an in-depth understanding of retail operations and the market knowledge needed to serve as trusted advisors.”

The Professional Retail Business Credential developed by the NRF Foundation measures the understanding of seven key areas of the retail industry. These include retail operations; merchandising; sales and marketing; retail management and planning; the retail context and customer; the retail organization and human resources; and warehousing and logistics. With this certification, partners can demonstrate their commitment to understanding retail clients' needs, and better serve their clients with increased knowledge of the industry.

“The NRF Foundation’s Retail Business Credential is the industry standard for assessing a business partner’s expertise in the retail market,” said Kathy Mance, executive director, NRF Foundation, the education arm of the National Retail Federation. “We are pleased and impressed that Avnet is making the investments to bring this certification to the value-added reseller community.”

Avnet offers a wide-variety of enablement and educational resources as part of its SolutionsPath^® methodology to help partners specialize in selling data center solutions to vertical market industries. Through its RetailPath^™ practice, Avnet will now assist qualified partners in preparing for the NRF Foundation Professional Retail Business Credential. Avnet’s progressive, end-to-end engagement and educational resources for the retail industry include Avnet’s unique solutions methodology and related offerings, such as SolutionsPath^® Playbooks, online education, market research, business analytics and supplier certifications.

“We’ve been very impressed with Avnet’s educational resources to help us specialize in the retail industry,” said Jeff Friess, director of sales at BlueSky Technologies. “Avnet’s assistance in preparing for the certification exam provides tremendous value by enabling us to quickly become industry authorized, so our team members achieve their certifications must faster and more cost-effectively than on their own. We know our retail industry prospects value this certification. Certification will automatically give us a leg up on the competition and validate our understanding of the unique ways retailers operate. From an executive strategy standpoint, this training confirmed our company roadmap.”

Candidates can earn the Professional Retail Business Credential by passing an online, 75-question assessment. The assessment must be proctored, and Avnet is now qualified to proctor the exam at private test sites, such as partners’ offices.

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About the National Retail Federation (NRF)

As the world's largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, the National Retail Federation's global membership includes retailers of all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as chain restaurants and industry partners from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. In the United States, NRF represents the breadth and diversity of an industry with more than 1.6 million American companies that employ nearly 25 million workers and generated 2010 sales of $2.4 trillion. www.nrf.com

About Avnet Technology Solutions

As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver effective solutions that address the business challenges of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2010, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $8.19 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 3, 2010, Avnet generated revenue of $19.16 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.