Pete McLean's business card says that he is a Regional Power Specialist (RPS) for the PEMCO Supplier Services Group of North American Components (NAC). But in reality, he wears so many hats he might need more office space just to store them.

McLean helps the Arrow sales team in North America increase profitable sales of power supply products. To do that, he has to be part consultant, designer, strategist, customer relations liaison, negotiator and more. McLean is one of eight RPSs in the group, and from his Seattle office, he covers six states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. He also covers the western Canadian cities of Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Our job is to develop key relationships with customers and manufacturers to partner with Arrow so we can increase power supply revenue,” McLean explains. “To do that, we develop sales strategies with the field sales representatives and support them in their sales and design-in activities, while assisting customers, developing relationships with suppliers and facilitating communication among all parties. We also assist the team in developing pricing strategies and helping manage value-add programs.”

Power supplies are essential to any device that uses electrical power, whether that power comes from batteries, chargers, electrical outlets or other sources. In North America alone, the DTAM (distribution total available market) for power supplies is $245 million (U.S.), while the TAM (total available market) in North America is more than $4 billion (U.S.).

Power supply requirements vary greatly and are specific to each application. One key task of an RPS is to accompany the sales representative and speak with customers about their applications. McLean says, “We find out precisely what they're looking for and what their hot buttons are, whether it's lowest price, best quality, a standard product or customization. Based on the customer's requirements and our research, we can say, ‘here's the best fit for what you need.'” Even if a standard product meets that need, it takes a power specialist to know what products are available. McLean says, “We carry 14 manufacturers on our line card and each has a tremendous breadth of products, so the key is knowing what we have to offer that will work best for the customer.”

If special pricing is needed to secure the business, McLean works with suppliers and product managers to obtain that pricing. If customization is needed, McLean helps develop solutions. For example, if a customer-specific configuration is called for, he'll work with the customer's engineers to define the requirements. If a full custom power supply is required, McLean will work with engineers from both the customer and the manufacturer.

Pete McLean has been with Arrow for five and a half years – the first four and a half years as a field sales representative and the time since as a regional power specialist for the PEMCO Supplier Services Group. Before joining Arrow, McLean went into insurance sales and even spent two years as a scout for the Kansas City Royals major league baseball team. McLean lives in the Seattle area with his wife and son and enjoys a variety of water sports such as boating, water skiing and jet skiing.

In addition, he'll also coordinate with Arrow's Power Products Center in Freemont, Calif. to marshal the necessary resources to come up with the optimal solution.

McLean's biggest challenge is covering his huge territory and making power supplies top-of-mind with the sales force. McLean says, “I can't be in every location as much as I'd like to be, but I try to be in each location as much as possible.” When he can't meet in person, he is in constant touch via phone and e-mail with the sales representatives, suppliers and customers throughout his region. In fact, it's the diversity of customers and applications that McLean enjoys most. “It's exciting to see what all these different customers are working on,” says McLean, “It's fun to work with the engineers to come up with the best solutions.”