April 10, 2008 - Modern Distribution Management

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April 10, 2008

Ferguson Launches New E-Commerce Site

Free, News, Subscriber Only, Technology /

Ferguson, a Wolseley plc U.S.-based HVAC and plumbing distributor, is launching a free transactional Web site to provide customers with 24/7 access to product information, real-time availability and ordering, as well as accounts information.
 
The formal rollout of Ferguson Online kicked off in January in Southern California.
 
An aggressive schedule has the Ferguson Online sales team targeting 100,000 customers, representing $2.1 billion in annual sales, for sign-up by the end of the current fiscal year. The remaining branches will follow soon afterwards in a full-scale national roll-out.

 
Meeting customer needs was a main driver for developing Ferguson Online,”says Chris Ann Jackson, Manager e-commerce, North America. “Ferguson’s e-business offering …

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MDM News Digest 3807

Free, Subscriber Only /

Paris-based Rexel now owns 98.67 percent of Hagemeyer NV, and shares of Hagemeyer will no longer be publicly traded as of mid-April, the companies announced. In November 2007, Rexel and Hagemeyer reached an agreement for Rexel to buy the Dutch electrical distributor for roughly US$4.5 billion. More

Rexel will complete sales of Hagemeyer NV ‘s North American, Asian-Pacific and some European assets to competitor Sonepar will take place in the next six months, Rexel CEO …

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U.S. Market Analysis: Wiring Devices

Economic Trends, Finance, Market Analysis, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

The industrial product group listed here – Wiring Devices – represented a market in 2007 of $6.9 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis. 

These charts show the top ten industries, by SIC code, consuming these products; and the 2007 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the nine government market …

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Monthly Wholesale Trade and Inventories: February 2008

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

February 2008 sales of wholesalers were $377.4 billion, down 0.8 percent from the revised January level, but up 12.2 percent from the February 2007 level. The January preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.9 billion or 0.2 percent. February sales of durable goods were down 1.7 percent from last month, but up 3.6 percent from a year ago.

Compared to last month, sales of furniture and home furnishings were down 4.6 percent and sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were down 4.1 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.1 percent from last month and were up 20.5 percent from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 2.6 percent from last month, while sales of farm product raw materials were down 4.4 percent.

Inventories. …

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The Trade Agreements Act

Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Subscriber Only /

As a follow-up to the last MDM installment on federal contract compliance, this article focuses on one area of compliance that applies to most suppliers of goods to the U.S. Federal Government – The Trade Agreements Act (TAA). 
 
The Trade Agreements Act applies to procurements of specified products by most federal agencies that have a dollar value exceeding $194,000. For procurements to which it applies, the TAA supersedes the Buy American Act and governs the acquisition. 

Congress passed the TAA to comply with its responsibilities under the Agreement on Government Procurement (AGP), a multilateral agreement negotiated under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. 

The AGP is also commonly referred to as the …

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Commentary: A New Look for Modern Distribution Management

Perspective, Subscriber Only /

You’ll notice a few minor changes in the print version of MDM this issue, as well as some upcoming changes online, in an effort to make our information services more user-friendly. This column, which has been on the front page of the yellow section for a few years, will now appear on this page.

This Perspective column is often either related to the cover story or about broader distribution-related issues, so page 2 of our print edition is a more logical place for it to live than in the Industrial &Construction Markets Update yellow section. This page also gives us more space to explore issues than the single-column format in place for the past 40 years. More space also gives us some flexibility to address, when warranted, more than one topic.

The Industrial …

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Case Study: Inviting Employees to the Table

Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Houston, TX-based Hisco, a $191-million distributor of die-cuts, adhesives and MRO materials to the electronic assembly industry, wanted to optimize the balance between branch autonomy and centralized control in its 30 locations in the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. It used the front-line experience of its branch employees to make it happen.

Hisco is 100-percent employee-owned, giving it an entrepreneurial feel, with no employee or executive holding more than 3 percent of the company’s stock.

And so while branch managers at Hisco are empowered to run their branches, make hiring decisions and manage assets to best-serve the needs of customers in individual markets, it was important to Hisco that some functions be centralized for efficiencies and that the …

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MDM Interview: HD Supply After the Deal

Companies, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

HD Supply, Atlanta, GA, now separated from its parent company The Home Depot, is ready to move forward as a focused organization after the ups and downs of 2007. HD Supply’s CEO Joe DeAngelo spoke recently with MDM on the distributor’s plans to stay on the acquisition trail, the company’s strategy for integrating acquired companies, its plans for private label and green, and how he views the current economic situation.


MDM: How did the past year of not knowing the direction of the company in terms of ownership affect HD Supply and its ability to execute its strategy?
 
Joe DeAngelo: The good news is that we got through it all. We woke up the first part of 2007 and find out we’re for sale mid-February, and you go with the flow with that and …

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Dover Corp. Establishes Pump Solutions Group

Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

New York-based Dover Corp. has established a Pump Solutions Group within its Fluid Solutions platform. The Pump Solutions Group joins the major brands, Wilden and Blackmer, with Almatec, Mouvex and Griswold to form a cohesive pump organization with a variety of pump technologies generating more than $300 million in annualized revenue.

PSG’s strategy is to leverage each company’s strong brand recognition while taking advantage of synergies within the group’s distribution, manufacturing footprint and supply chains. It also expects to leverage best practices and streamline back-office support functions. The group will look to improve upon its geographic sales mix, which is now over 50% international.
 
The Pump Solutions Group increases our distributor offerings and …

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Report: Manufacturing Will Rebound in 2009

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

A worsening housing collapse continues to depress related industries, making for turbulent times in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2008. Any gloom this year, however, should give way to a rebound in 2009, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Industrial Outlook, a report that analyzes 27 major industries.

Housing starts were down 26% in the fourth quarter of 2007. They are expected to plummet another 33% in 2008, bottoming out in the second quarter as the U.S. remains in the midst of the most severe housing downturn anyone could have imagined,” according to Daniel J. Meckstroth, Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, and author of the analysis.

Conversely, the longer term outlook looks much brighter, with a 32% increase …

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MDM April 10, 2008

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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