Acquisitions (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2014 Acquisitions	Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 28, 2013		Jun. 29, 2013		Mar. 30, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Sep. 29, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012		Mar. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid	$ 60,000
Sales		6,153,360		5,048,211		5,306,085		4,849,629		5,402,705		4,962,331		5,150,563		4,889,529		21,357,285		20,405,128		21,390,264
Goodwill		2,039,293	[1]							1,711,703	[1]							2,039,293	[1]	1,711,703	[1]	1,473,333	[1]
Number of Businesses Acquired	1
Net income attributable to shareholders		134,831	[2]	96,779	[3]	89,935	[4]	77,875	[5]	174,704	[6]	103,617	[7]	114,383	[8]	113,628	[9]	399,420		506,332		598,810
Basic		$ 1.34	[10],[2]	$ 0.96	[10],[3]	$ 0.87	[10],[4]	$ 0.74	[10],[5]	$ 1.64	[6]	$ 0.96	[7]	$ 1.04	[8]	$ 1.01	[9]	$ 3.89		$ 4.64		$ 5.25
Diluted		$ 1.32	[10],[2]	$ 0.95	[10],[3]	$ 0.86	[10],[4]	$ 0.72	[10],[5]	$ 1.62	[6]	$ 0.94	[7]	$ 1.02	[8]	$ 1.00	[9]	$ 3.85	[11]	$ 4.56	[11]	$ 5.17	[11]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Revenue																		22,191,263		21,433,912		21,573,260
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Net Income (Loss)																		408,290		524,943		603,243
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Basic																		$ 3.98		$ 4.81		$ 5.29
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Diluted																		$ 3.94		$ 4.73		$ 5.20
Purchase of subsidiary shares from noncontrolling interest																				2,526
Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life																		11 years		11 years
Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Minimum																				1
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Maximum																				3
ComputerLinks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																		313,209
Cash Acquired from Acquisition																		20,981
Sales																		208,177
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Receivables		177,700																177,700
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Inventory		58,041																58,041
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Other		11,168																11,168
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment		7,070																7,070
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Other Noncurrent Assets		1,480																1,480
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Intangible Assets, Other than Goodwill		39,195																39,195
Goodwill		275,442																275,442
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities, Accounts Payable		(213,456)																(213,456)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities		(51,270)																(51,270)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities, Other		(13,142)																(13,142)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Net		292,228																292,228
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross		39,195																39,195
ComputerLinks [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life																		9 years
Finite-Lived Customer Relationships, Gross		37,125																37,125
ComputerLinks [Member] | Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross		2,070																2,070
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Minimum																		1
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Maximum																		2
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																		80,210		289,782		153,555
Number of Businesses Acquired																		4		7		6
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration, at Fair Value		4,498								10,390								4,498		10,390
Richardson RFPD [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																						235,973
Nu Horizons [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																						161,125
Cash Acquired from Acquisition																						18,085
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Net																						162,213
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Noncurrent Liabilities, Long-term Debt																						26,375
Gain on bargain purchase																						1,088
Gain on bargain purchase, net of related taxes																						668
Gain on Purchase of Business, Per Share Basic																						$ 0.01
RFPD and Nu Horizons [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Sales																						$ 876,817

[1] The total carrying value of cost in excess of net assets of companies acquired for all periods in the table above is reflected net of $1,018,780 of accumulated impairment charges, of which $716,925 was recorded in the global components business segment and $301,855 was recorded in the global ECS business segment.

[2] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($13,341 net of related taxes or $.13 per share on both a basic and diluted basis)

[3] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($16,077 net of related taxes or $.16 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[4] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($20,688 net of related taxes or $.20 per share on both a basic and diluted basis). Also included is an increase in the provision for income taxes ($5,362 net of related taxes or $.05 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and interest expense ($939 net of related taxes or $.01 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) related to the settlement of certain international tax matters.

[5] Includes amortization expense related to identifiable intangible assets ($7,116 net of related taxes or $.07 per share on both a basic and diluted basis), restructuring, integration, and other charges ($15,495 net of related taxes or $.15 and $.14 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), and a loss on prepayment of debt ($2,627 net of related taxes or $.02 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[6] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($6,320 net of related taxes or $.06 per share on both a basic and diluted basis), and a gain on the settlement of a legal matter ($48,623 net of related taxes or $.46 and $.45 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively).

[7] Includes amortization expense related to identifiable intangible assets ($7,145 net of related taxes or $.07 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and restructuring, integration, and other charges ($8,576 net of related taxes or $.08 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[8] Includes amortization expense related to identifiable intangible assets ($7,360 net of related taxes or $.07 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and restructuring, integration, and other charges ($9,702 net of related taxes or $.09 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[9] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($6,141 net of related taxes or $.05 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[10] Quarterly net income per share is calculated using the weighted-average shares outstanding during each quarterly period, while net income per share for the full year is calculated using the weighted-average shares outstanding during the year. Therefore, the sum of the net income per share for each of the four quarters may not equal the net income per share for the full year.

[11] Stock-based compensation awards for the issuance of 874 shares, 1,424 shares, and 1,051 shares for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively, were excluded from the computation of net income per share on a diluted basis as their effect was anti-dilutive.