Mouser Electronics is a global distributor specialising in electronic components and semiconductors. Founded in 1964, it has built a reputation for its extensive product offerings, including the latest and most advanced components from leading manufacturers. Mouser caters to design engineers and buyers by delivering cutting-edge technologies and providing excellent customer service. The company’s strong focus on rapid introduction of new products and technologies has made it a preferred choice for electronic design engineers and industry professionals seeking the newest products in the market.
The history
Mouser Electronics established its roots in 1964 when high school physics teacher, Jerry Mouser, started up Western Components in El Cajon, California, to better answer his students’ needs for electronics components. In 1973, Western Components undergoes a name change to Mouser Electronics and the company has expanded its product range, catering to a wider audience within the electronics industry.
In 1983, Mouser Electronics opens a warehouse in Mansfield, TX, establishing an important global distribution advantage by using the DFW International Airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. In 1986, Mouser relocated its headquarters to Mansfield, Texas. This move was strategic, allowing for more efficient operations and better access to a growing customer base.
The turn of the millennium saw Mouser become a subsidiary of TTI, Inc., an authorised distribution specialist for I, P&E, and discrete components. Glenn Smith is named President & CEO in 2004, bringing a new era of changes to strengthen Mouser’s overall capabilities and commitment to service excellence, and expand its global reach.
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., acquires TTI, Inc, including Mouser Electronics in 2007 and expansion continues as Mouser opens offices across three continents to provide personalised customer service, sales, and technical support in customers’ local regions.
In 2019, Mouser grew to over 2,500 employees worldwide and 27 global locations dedicated to answering the authorised electronic component needs of buyers and design engineers in over 223 countries/territories – 24/7, 365 days a year.
Today, Mouser Electronics continues to expand its global footprint, by adding three new customer service centres and a major warehouse expansion.
A strong growth
As a global authorised distributor, Mouser offers a wide selection of the newest semiconductors and electronic components – in stock and ready to ship. Mouser’s customers can expect 100% certified, genuine products that are fully traceable from each of its manufacturer partners.
Mouser’s inventory consists of one million unique SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit) for products and technologies from over 1,200 electronic component manufacturers. It works closely with its manufacturer partners to provide the fastest and easiest access to the industry’s newest components. Since early 2020, Mouser has added over 310 new manufacturer partners to its lineup. In 2023, 64 new manufacturers were added and over 66,000 part numbers were launched, including over 8,000 in the fourth quarter, ready for shipment.
By significantly expanding its product choices for design engineers and purchasing professionals, not only do they have access to a wide selection of the most advanced technologies, but they can more easily avoid costly redesigns, manufacturing delays, or even the termination of a project.
Mouser offers selection, speed, and accuracy with no minimum order required. Most orders are processed and ready to ship in 15 minutes, enabling same-day shipping on orders received by 8pm CST depending on the region. Typically, in the US, shipping is within 24 hours. For Europe it’s 2–3 days and Asia is 3–5 days, again depending on the region.
In 2022, the company broke ground on a 416,000-square-foot, three-story building that will expand its distribution centre, located south of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Upon completion this year of the new construction, Mouser’s 100-acre- global headquarters and distribution centre will consist of almost 1.5 million square feet. This new building will feature a triple-mezzanine floorplan, advanced automation, and a skybridge connector to the pre-existing distribution centre building.
Tools for purchasing professionals
As the industry recovers from the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of current geopolitical tensions, purchasing professionals are looking for distributors to give them more than just access to the latest components – they’re looking for that value-added service.
To help speed up the design process for customers, Mouser’s website hosts an extensive library of technical resources, including a Technical Resource Centre, along with product data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, engineering tools, and other helpful information.
For purchasing professionals in particular, Mouser has a dedicated Purchasing Resource Library which features dozens of articles and videos that empower buyers with the insights needed to make informed purchasing decisions. The Purchasing Resource Library contains instructional videos, developed in partnership with manufacturers, dedicated to some of the most important components in electronics design. These include a video created with Coilcraft that explains inductors and inductance and a video from Analog Devices and Mouser that defines analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The library also features several articles that address trending topics, such as vehicle charging infrastructure, chip shortages, and supply chain challenges. The Library also helps buyers choose the most suitable products for their design and engineering needs. The site offers convenient links to many services and tools, including the FORTE intelligent BOM tool, Price and Availability Assistant, and API hub.
FORTE is a comprehensive, intelligent BOM tool that quickly evaluates millions of parts to improve order accuracy, save time, and increase confidence when specifying and purchasing semiconductors and electronic components. And it’s free to anyone with a My Mouser account.
An API is a flexible and adaptable connection between two pieces of software and Mouser has a suite of APIs to help save customers time and money while simplifying development. Customers can gain access to and utilise Mouser’s product data, availability, and pricing, as well as automate their basket-building process and view all previous orders within their own application.
Sustainability goals
Mouser Electronics has a deep commitment to environmental responsibility, incorporating this ethos into its core mission of innovation. It has achieved ISO 14001 registration and is progressing towards ISO 26000:2010 Sustainability standards, aligning with global social responsibility practices.
Its environmental policy focuses on continuous improvement in environmental performance, legal compliance, pollution prevention, and resource conservation. This includes reducing its carbon footprint, water usage, and increasing recycled materials usage.
As a distributor of electronic components, equipment, and supplies, Mouser intends to properly identify all environmental aspects of the products it carries. It is committed to include accurate and traceable identification to part numbers via documentation from manufacturers. In addition, it prevents the mixing of products with different environmental aspects through strict inventory control and conservative return policies.
TTI and the family of specialists, which includes Mouser, have achieved a Bronze Sustainability Rating from ecovadis. ecovadis has the World’s Most Trusted Business Sustainability Ratings. Mouser has also chosen IntegrityNext for its repository of social responsibility and sustainability. IntegrityNext covers all material ESG topics in accordance with relevant standards and regulations.
Mouser is now Cyber Essentials certified!
At the end of 2023, Mouser successfully completed its System and Organisation Controls 2 Type II (SOC 2 Type II), along with also receiving ISO 27001 Stage 2 and Cyber Essentials certification. Mouser’s customers can trust that it has the rigorous processes in place to protect the security, privacy, and availability of its data, systems, and products, which are 100% authorised from over 1,200 manufacturers of semiconductors and electronic components.
Following the highest data security standards, Mouser is dedicated to managing cyber security and minimising risks through its comprehensive Information Security Management System (ISMS). SOC2, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials are a set of domestic and international standards that support the requirements for an ISMS. This framework helps organisations manage their cyber security risks and includes policies, processes, and controls designed to protect information assets from threats.
To be certified in these frameworks, Mouser had to meet all rigorous requirements laid out in the standards. This includes developing and implementing an information security policy, establishing risk management processes, identifying risks, implementing controls to mitigate risks, and more measures.
Mouser achieved these certifications through five independent assessments in 2023 and will undergo periodic reassessments to maintain these top certifications.
“Nothing we have accomplished here would have been possible without diligence, enthusiasm, and perseverance of the entire Mouser team – past and present. I would not be here today, after 50 years, without the exceptional teamwork of Mouser employees. Each of us continues to play an important role in making our company thrive. Together, we have accomplished great things, and we are far from finished.”
Glenn Smith, President & CEO
Key facts:
- Headquarters – Mansfield, Texas
- Facility size – over 90,000m² (1 million-square-foot)
- Number of employees – 4,000+ (globally)
- $3.68 billion annual revenue in 2023
- 8 million products from over 1,200 manufacturer brands
- 28 support locations worldwide
- Ships to over 650,000 customers in 223 countries/territories
- 310 new manufacturers added since early 2020
The mission
“Our mission is supporting engineers with new product introductions. It’s crucial for us to ensure that they have access to the newest products for their latest designs, catering to a broad engineering community. This includes not only established engineers and large customers but also students who are future engineers. Furthermore, it’s vital to me that we provide best-in-class service to all our customers, regardless of their size. Whether they are a large corporation, a small business, or a student, each is a valued customer, and we are committed to offering them the best service possible.”
Graham Munson, VP Customer Service EMEA
This article originally appeared in the February issue of Procurement Pro.
