Pros
Access to a wide variety of technology providers and VARs; innovation in VAR education and Solutions Marketing is critically important and very effective as the market changes to emphasize services over hardware sales.
Cons
Solutions Marketing gets very little respect. Business Unit leaders are running their own empires. There is very little integration or cooperation. This will hurt Avnet in the long run. Executives start every meeting with a sickening rendition of how long they have been with the company and who they know in higher positions. Definitely a company that manages upward and ignores effective communication downward. Frequent turnover limits effectiveness of any new initiatives. Ineffective executives are moved to other positions and are all over the company. New ideas are slaughtered with a smirk by the good old boy network.