January 10, 2007 - Modern Distribution Management

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January 10, 2007

Private Label Use to Grow

Management, Research & Analytics, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

Private label products—products branded by a wholesaler-distributor—represent a break from the more traditional wholesale distribution approach of reselling manufacturers' branded products. In our new research study, Facing the Forces of Change®: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain, we found that private label strategies by wholesaler-distributors will expand substantially over the next five years.

Private labels will strengthen wholesaler-distributors' relationships with their customers. However, they will strain distributors' relationships with their suppliers by challenging the wholesale distribution channel's traditional …

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Commentary: HD Supply Strategy Bigger Than One Guy

Free, Management, Perspective, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

Hype and speculation tend to follow an industry consolidator. The announcement last week that Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli was ousted from his position over pay issues and lagging stock gains generated an inordinate amount of buzz. Some even claimed it is a repudiation of the Home Depot model itself and its relatively recent strategy to aggressively grow the wholesale distribution division.


Hardly. All we know versus a week ago is that HD has $210 million less to fund acquisition activities that instead went to Mr. Nardelli’s severance package (Wouldn’t you like to be chastised like that?). Now that will really slow the acquisition pace of HD Supply….


What’s lost in the shock value of the pay deal is that Home Depot’s net income in the most recent quarter, ended …

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Machine Tool Consumption Down 12% From October

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

November U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $335.02 million, according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology.


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This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 12.3% from October, but up 32.7% from the total of $252.38 million reported for November 2005. With a year-to-date total of $3,549.90 million, 2006 was up 29.4% compared with 2005.


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These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.


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Though below the exceptional September peak, the November results continue to show strong purchases of advanced …

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U.S. Wholesale Revenues Up 1% from October

Economic Trends, Free, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Sales


November 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $331.3 billion, up 1.0% (+/-0.5%) from the revised October level and were up 7.9% (+/-1.2%) from the November 2005 level. The October preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.4 billion or 0.1%. November sales of durable goods increased 1.2% (+/-0.8%) from last month and were up 7.7% (+/-1.8%) from a year ago.&nbsp ;


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Compared to last month, sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 5.0% and sales of electrical and electronic goods increased 2.9 %. November sales of nondurable goods were up 0.7% (+/-0.7%) …

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MDM Inflation Index: November 2006

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Modern Distribution Management’s November Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.20% from the previous month, and up 4.04% from November 2005.

Summary of&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:

November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
May 2006 Index 262.1
April 2006 Index 262.1
March 2006 Index 262.1
Febuary 2006 Index 261.2
January 2006 Index 260.2
December 2005 Index 258.1
November 2005 Index&nbsp ; 256.1


Please click below on Related Document to view a detailed calculation of the&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for November 2006, listing the ten …

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MDM News Digest 3701

Free, Subscriber Only /

Strategic Distribution, Inc., Bristol, PA, has agreed to be bought out by Platinum Equity in a deal worth $30 million. The deal stipulates that Strategic Distribution will merge with Project Eagle Holding Corp. and Project Eagle Merger Corp., each a Platinum Equity portfolio company. Strategic reported revenues of $136.9 million in 2005 and a net loss of $3.4 million. Platinum Equity has been busy in the industrial sector, recently buying Textron Fastening Systems for $630 million and PNA Group Inc., a $1.2 billion processor and distributor of steel products. More …

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, has agreed to acquire Federal Signal …

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MSC Keeps Eye on ISM Index

Companies, Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

MSC Industrial Direct Inc., Melville, NY, said in a recent conference call with investors that it has seen a slowdown in revenue growth in the past few months.


We’re mindful of the ISM index and its historic correlation to our growth rate, CEO David Sandler said of the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing report. While we believe a number of marketing and sales initiatives will moderate its impact … it is apparent that three to six months of ISM weakness has modestly affected our revenue growth and will probably continue to do so in the next couple of quarters if past experience proves out.”


Still, thanks in part to its acquisition of J & L Industrial Supply last year from Kennametal, the industrial MRO distributor recorded an increase in sales …

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Construction to Moderate in 2007

Building Materials/Construction, Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /


Overall U.S. construction in 2007 is forecast to slow from previous levels, thanks to a downturn in residential building, according to recent reports. But nonresidential construction should stay relatively strong in the new year, with institutional and commercial building leading the way.


McGraw-Hill Construction reports total construction starts will drop 1 percent in 2007. Housing starts will fall 5 percent, with both single and multifamily housing taking a hit.


A large backlog in unsold homes suggests home construction may be slow to turn around, but most analysts expect declines to moderate in 2007, according to the Fed. Housing demand may also improve in 2007.


McGraw-Hill reports that retail construction will decline as housing starts slow. Retail …

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Single-Sourcing on a Smaller Scale

Research & Analytics, Strategy, Subscriber Only /


1sourcesupplies is an alliance of distributors who want to offer single-sourcing programs to smaller customers, including inventory management, supply chain automation, streamlined billing and information analysis.


Mark Hill’s cutting tool distributorship, I.M.C. Supply Co., Memphis, TN, lost its biggest customer in 1997. The customer we lost really wanted us to have their business, but we didn’t have the programs they needed, Hill says.


Instead of folding, or scrambling to make ends meet, Hill pushed forward with a plan to find a way to offer single-sourcing solutions to his customers. Since that year, his business has doubled. About 65 percent of his business is now single-source.


Hill has decided to pass on his newfound knowledge in the form of a …

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Technology Case Study: Routing Costs

Subscriber Only, Technology, Top Distributor Sectors /


Beacon Electric Supply in Southern California implemented a fleet management system to increase the number of deliveries drivers could make in a day. The system has also helped Beacon improve customer service levels and keep salespeople apprised of issues at the delivery site.


At Beacon Electric Supply Inc., San Diego, CA, the burden of making deliveries on time used to lay on the drivers. They would get a pile of orders and it would be up to the drivers to best determine the routes, says CFO Dan Vivier. They supposedly knew their areas better than anyone else.”


While that was true, fingers were inevitably pointed at the driver whenever something went wrong with a delivery.


So Beacon implemented a fleet management software package from RouteView a …

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MDM January 10, 2007

Subscriber Only /

This is the pdf of this issue of Modern Distribution Management. Apply the full $24.95 pay-per-view cost toward an annual subscription (within 30 days of purchase), which includes two issues a month plus access to more than six years of online archives and market data. Call 1-888-742-5060 or email info@mdm.com to …

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