EMSNOW Executive Interview: Steve Vecchiarelli Joins CalcuQuote as Special Advisor on Supplier Relationships
CalcuQuote recently officially announced the addition of Steve Vecchiarelli, who will be joining the CalcuQuote team in an advisory capacity. With 40 years of distribution experience, Steve is a resident electronics supply chain expert. What does this mean for CalcuQuote customers? Expect an increase in new and innovative ideas, more and closer supplier partnerships on the CQ platform, and a continued focus on moving the industry towards digital connectedness via APIs. We sat down with Steve to learn more about this new role.
EMSNOW: Steve, tell us a bit about your background. How did you get started in Electronics?
My degree is in Biochemistry, and I graduated from Northeastern in Boston, MA. I originally intended to go to medical school, but I determined I didn’t want to continue with that many years of additional education. I wanted to move forward with my career. My dad was in the electronic component business dating back to WWII. I decided I would work with him until I decided my next move. 46 years later, I realized this was, in fact, what I wanted to do. I started in Sales and ended up as VP of Supply Chain Distribution upon my retirement.
In my last 3-4 years with Digi-Key, I became involved in Digital Transformation, and that’s how I came into contact with CalcuQuote. My goal upon retirement was to do some consulting work, and CalcuQuote felt like a perfect fit.
EMSNOW: What will you be doing at CalcuQuote and what impact do you think it will have?
My role is largely going to revolve around forming relationships with senior leadership at the supplier level. My goal is to understand their various strategies, and clearly identify everyone’s needs, so we avoid any miscommunications between key decision makers. I see my role as facilitating a discussion between my personal experience, CalcuQuote’s exceptional tools, and the customers’ needs for Digital Transformation.
For me, CalcuQuote is in the Digital Transformation business. We are digitizing old processes, and helping our customers rethink productivity. We are rewriting the script that has defined the EMS industry for years and helping re-define productivity baselines.
EMSNOW: What excites you about joining the team?
CalcuQuote is young, energetic, and driven to be thought-leaders in the industry – that’s an exciting and dynamic environment to be a part of. In my opinion, CalcuQuote has the best product on the market, and I look forward to helping to refine and improve their products. CalcuQuote has a culture in which they genuinely listen to and care about their customer feedback, and I think it’s exciting to see that growth.
EMSNOW: How do you see CalcuQuote driving EMS forward?
I would like to see CalcuQuote expand beyond the EMS industry. Four or five years down the road, I hope to see CalcuQuote expand into different industries that share common issues. I see us in the Digital Transformation business, so I’d love to see our tagline become “Digital Transformation of Supply Chain Begins Here,” or something of that nature.
EMSNOW: What has been the biggest shift you have seen in the industry & where do you see it heading?
Technology can be challenging, but in most cases, IT developers can overcome those challenges. The biggest hindrance to progress in every industry is our human aversion to change. Challenging the status quo is always a struggle, and I see that as the primary obstacle the EMS industry has faced as we enter into the age of Digital Transformations. We need to embrace the paradigm shift between human thought and machine process implementation – the two shouldn’t be at odds, they should be collaborative. As we move forward, making that collaboration key is going to enable our customers to be more competitive and ultimately more successful doing business. For me, CalcuQuote is the leading thought-leader in this type of mindset and implementation. Conveying today’s message, but being prepared to move forward with tomorrow’s adaptations.
