August 5, 2009 - Modern Distribution Management

August 5, 2009

Stock Building Supply Locations Moving Back Into Locals’ Hands

The divestiture of Stock Building Supply by UK-based distributor Wolseley plc has sparked a string of expansions for small, local building materials distributors who are picking up the locations left by Stock. Or former owners of those locations are buying them back.

Theformer Stock branches are being reinvented as local, independent distributors.

And in many cases the former employees of those Stock locations are being rehired by the new owners. In this article by the Valley Courier, a family that owns another long-time nearby building materials distributor purchased the former Stock property. The distributor plans to re-open the location as Alamosa Building Supply …

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Avnet Fiscal Year End Sales Down 9.6%

Avnet, Inc., Tempe, AZ, reported sales of $16.2 billion for fiscal year 2009, down 9.6% over fiscal year 2008. The electronics distributor recorded a loss of $1.12 billion for the fiscal year, compared to profit of $499.1 million a year ago. Organic sales were down 15.6%.

For the fourth quarter, sales were $3.77 billion, down 19.5% over fourth quarter fiscal year 2008. Net loss was $30.9 million, compared to profit of $144.1 million for the prior year period. Organic sales declined 24.7%.

Electronics Marketing sales of $2.13 billion for the fourth quarter fiscal 2009 were down 22.2% year over year. Organic revenue decreased 27.3%.

Technology Solutions sales of $1.64 billion for the fourth quarter fiscal 2009 were down 15.8% year over year and down 20.9% organically. …

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RBC Bearings 1Q Sales Decline 31%

RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, a manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries, reported sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 were $63.7 million, down 31% from the prior year period. Profit declined 52.6% to $5.1 million.

A drop of 46.3% in industrial sales due to the current economic climate was the primary reason for the overall sales declines. Aerospace and defense were less impacted and decreased by …

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Chicago Tribune’s Look at Netflix Efficiencies

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look from the Chicago Tribune at efficiencies in the online DVD service Netflix’s operations – the author asks: How do consumers get their movies so quickly? While the article is short on a few details, a few pieces do stick out, namely the importance of finding the right employees and providing them the right benefits/pay to keep them around. And Netflix’s use of the right technology to automate what humans would take much longer to do.

But most importantly, the article highlights Netflix’s effective use of both talent and technology to get the job done, something that is not always easy, but continues to be more important as distributors deal with …

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