Angela Poulson, Author at Modern Distribution Management - Page 5 of 7

Posts By Angela Poulson

In February, MSC Industrial Direct Co. (NYSE: MSM) announced plans to buy Barnes Distribution North America, which has a footprint throughout the U.S. and Canada. This article takes a look at the impact of the deal, both on the individual companies and on the industrial distribution landscape.

MRO distributor MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., Melville, NY, has agreed to acquire the North American distribution business of the Barnes Group Inc., for $550 million. The acquisition, which is expected to close in late March or early April, will add fasteners and other high-margin consumable products and services to MSC’s portfolio. MSC also gains Barnes’ vendor managed inventory solution.

The deal does not include the Associated Spring Raymond portion of Barnes Distribution North America.

The transaction will contribute to MSC’s goal of reaching $4 billion in revenues by 2016, according to MSC President and CEO Erik Gershwind.

Deal Drivers
“Barnes Distribution North America brings to MSC a complete vendor-managed inventory solution, which strengthens MSC’s value proposition to its customer base,” says Tom Lange, managing director and head of Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Distribution Group, which advised Barnes Group on the divestiture.

“Second, Barnes Distribution and MSC have …

Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group says distributors need to break out of the traditional mold of doing business and think differently about how to stand out in an increasingly busy market. In today’s business climate, distributors must do more to maintain their edge.

This is an exclusive summary of the recent MDM Webcast, What Distributor Innovation Looks Like in 2013: Rethinking Your Business Model. The program is available on-demand or on DVD at www.mdm.com/innovation.

Market share incumbents held hostage to the old ways of doing things are losing ground to “rule-breakers,” innovative market share challengers with a fresh perspective, according to Indian River Consulting Group’s Mike Marks in the recent MDM Webcast, What Distributor Innovation Looks Like in 2013: Rethinking Your Business Model.

History shows us that incremental improvements to the same business model can lead to success. The successful automotive company Porsche, for example, has focused on continuous product development along the same platform for years. And Marks says …

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