August 2012

Commentary: Stop Looking Backwards

Management, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Subscriber Only / Tom Gale

The national media seems determined to make a return to recession an Olympic event. But let’s not give them the gold yet. Industrial markets have slowed, but there are still many niche areas of strength, and many distributors are reporting record-setting years. Financials of public distributors for the second quarter include high single-digit and double-digit growth. On a more macro basis, most expectations are for …

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Franklin Electric Acquires Cerus Industrial

Finance, Free, HVACR, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Plumbing Products & PVF Distribution, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Franklin CEO: Increased demand for electronic drives a key driver of the acquisition.

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Download This Issue in PDF: August 10, 2012

Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

M&A Activity Strong in Distribution
Commentary: Stop Looking Back
The Impact of Obamacare on Business
Why Top-Down Budgeting Doesn’t Work

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Update: M&A Activity Remains Strong in Distribution

Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Subscriber Only / Angela Poulson

In MDM's 2012 Wholesale Distribution M&A Update webcast, three industry experts, including representatives from investment banking, private equity and distribution, shed light on current trends in the industry. Merger and acquisition activity in distribution has bounced back, led by increasing middle-market transactions with predominantly strategic buyers.

Despite lower overall spending on transactions, merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. has made a comeback, according to Jason Kliewer, director of the distribution group for investment banking firm Robert W. Baird & Co. The U.S. M&A deal count has returned to near-2007 levels, driven in part by increasing middle-market transactions since 2009.

In distribution, activity has followed suit. M&A in 2010 reached “record levels, with deal count doubling from …

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The Practical Implications of ‘Obamacare’ on Distributors

Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution, Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Management, Operations, Strategy, Subscriber Only / Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier

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Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, businesses that have taken a “wait-and-see” approach to much of the law will have to take quick action to determine what they need to do to ensure they are in compliance. This article examines some of the key provisions of the PPACA and steps that businesses should be taking now.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act– commonly referred to as Obamacare – as constitutional, bringing to a close yet another chapter of the heated debate that has raged in Washington and across the country since the bill was passed in 2010. While some measures, such as the elimination of preexisting conditions for children and the extension of coverage for children to age 26, were already implemented, many more are slated to go into effect over the next 18 months.

But there’s a problem: The law contains so many provisions that it can be difficult for anyone to really understand what they need to do next. And misconceptions persist about what the law includes. In a recent MDM survey …

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A Different Approach to Budgeting

Management, Strategy, Subscriber Only / Brent Grover

The following is an excerpt of Brent Grover’s latest distribution management book, The Little Black Book of Strategic Planning for Distributors, published by Modern Distribution Management. In this article, Grover argues that the traditional method that distributors use to plan for the next year is flawed. Instead, they need to link the strategic plan to the annual planning process, and instead of working top-down, build from the bottom up. MDM subscribers get a 20 percent discount on this book.

General George S. Patton knew much about wartime planning and execution, and many of his aphorisms are memorable (“Lead me, follow me or get out of my way.”) and applicable to business situations (“A good plan violently executed now is better than the perfect plan next week.”).

To paraphrase: There are three ways that business leaders get what they want – by planning, by working and by praying. Any great business takes careful planning or thinking. Then you must have well-trained people to carry it out: That’s working. But between the plan and the operation there is always an unknown. That unknown

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