A senior executive at Avnet Computer Marketing resigned last Friday amid allegations that the company used counterfeit components in Compaq PCs.

The resignation of Bob Nail, supply-chain management vice president at Avnet, has been accepted by the company's president, Rick Hamada. Nail had worked at Phoenix, Arizona based Avnet for 28 years.

He was named in a lawsuit, filed two weeks ago by a former employee, which alleges that Avnet swapped Compaq-approved components with less expensive German-manufactured parts in every computer it assembled for Compaq. The scheme was desinged to boost Avnet Computer Marketing's profit margins, the lawsuit alleges, according to reports.

So what will HP, Compaq's new-ish owner, do? It will undoubtedly scrutinise this case very closely.

Avnet is a major electronics and computer distie worldwide and will be keen to avoid the humiliating loss of a major franchise. The sacrifice of Nail will not be enough, if the fraud did actually take place. ®