Acquisitions (Details)		3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares		Sep. 26, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares		Jun. 27, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares		Mar. 28, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares		Sep. 27, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares		Jun. 28, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares		Mar. 29, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) Acquisitions $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) Acquisitions Years $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) Acquisitions $ / shares
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Additional Percentage Interest Acquired of Subsidiary Shares from Noncontrolling Interest																		$ 0.036
Sales		$ 6,751,342,000		$ 5,698,304,000		$ 5,829,989,000		$ 5,002,385,000		$ 6,396,879,000		$ 5,613,216,000		$ 5,676,539,000		$ 5,082,040,000		23,282,020,000		$ 22,768,674,000		$ 21,357,285,000
Goodwill	[1]	2,368,832,000								2,069,209,000								2,368,832,000		2,069,209,000		2,039,293,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired																		514,731,000		162,881,000		367,940,000
Net income attributable to shareholders		$ 158,492,000	[2]	$ 109,244,000	[3]	$ 123,932,000	[4]	$ 106,058,000	[5]	$ 116,177,000	[6]	$ 146,864,000	[7]	$ 127,884,000	[8]	$ 107,120,000	[9]	$ 497,726,000		$ 498,045,000		$ 399,420,000
Basic | $ / shares		$ 1.71	[2],[10]	$ 1.16	[3],[10]	$ 1.30	[4],[10]	$ 1.11	[5],[10]	$ 1.20	[6]	$ 1.49	[7]	$ 1.29	[8]	$ 1.07	[9]	$ 5.26		$ 5.05		$ 3.89
Diluted | $ / shares		$ 1.69	[2],[10]	$ 1.15	[3],[10]	$ 1.28	[4],[10]	$ 1.09	[5],[10]	$ 1.18	[6]	$ 1.47	[7]	$ 1.27	[8]	$ 1.06	[9]	$ 5.20	[11]	$ 4.98	[11]	$ 3.85	[11]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Revenue																		$ 23,684,746,000		$ 24,189,797,000		$ 22,191,263,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Net Income (Loss)																		$ 500,554,000		$ 518,859,000		$ 408,290,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Basic | $ / shares																		$ 5.29		$ 5.26		$ 3.98
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Diluted | $ / shares																		$ 5.23		$ 5.19		$ 3.94
Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life																		10 years		10 years
Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Minimum | Years																				2
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life, Maximum | Years																				3
immixGroup [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Receivables		$ 145,130,000																$ 145,130,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Other		26,647,000																26,647,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment		1,569,000																1,569,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Finite-Lived Intangibles		5,313,000																5,313,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid		280,454
Cash Acquired from Acquisition		28,205,000																384,926,000
Goodwill		174,074,000																174,074,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities, Accounts Payable		(136,921,000)																(136,921,000)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities		(11,736,000)																(11,736,000)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities, Other		(5,527,000)																(5,527,000)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Net		252,249,000																$ 252,249,000
immixGroup [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life																		13 years
Finite-Lived Customer Relationships, Gross		53,700,000																$ 53,700,000
ComputerLinks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																						$ 313,209
Cash Acquired from Acquisition																						20,981,000
Sales																						$ 208,177,000
ComputerLinks [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life																		9 years
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt acquired from acquisition		84,487,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																		$ 162,881,000		$ 80,210,000
Number of Businesses Acquired | Acquisitions																		9		5		4
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired																		$ 263,341,000
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration, at Fair Value		5,853,000								$ 4,498,000								5,853,000		$ 4,498,000
Business Combination, Other Amounts Withheld		$ 210,000																$ 210,000
Data Modul AG [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired		53.70%																53.70%

[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 ($13,198 net of related taxes or $.14 per share on both a basic and diluted basis)

[3] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($12,642 net of related taxes or $.13 per share on both a basic and diluted basis)

[4] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($12,895 net of related taxes or $.13 per share on both a basic and diluted basis). Also included is a loss on investment ($921 net of related taxes or $.01 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[5] Includes identifiable intangible asset amortization ($9,029 net of related taxes or $.09 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and restructuring, integration, and other charges ($12,569 net of related taxes or $.13 per share on both a basic and diluted basis)

[6] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($11,222 net of related taxes or $.12 and $.11 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), and a non-cash impairment charge associated with discontinuing the use of a trade name ($47,911 net of related taxes or $.49 per share on both a basic and diluted basis).

[7] ($9,086 net of related taxes or $.09 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and restructuring, integration, and other charges ($2,556 net of related taxes or $.03 per share on both a basic and diluted basis). Also included is a gain on sale of investment ($18,269 net of related taxes or $.19 and $.18 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively).

[8] ($8,867 net of related taxes or $.09 per share on both a basic and diluted basis) and restructuring, integration, and other charges ($7,526 net of related taxes or $.08 and $.07 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively).

[9] restructuring, integration, and other charges ($8,020 net of related taxes or $.08 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 658 shares, 294 shares, and 874 shares for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively, were excluded from the computation of net income per share on a diluted basis as their effect was anti-dilutive.