How often do we really step back to determine if we are executing on basic principles of effective leadership?
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How can distributors – small and large – continue to differentiate in an increasingly crowded marketplace?
In November 2011, private equity firm Advent International made a majority investment in Morrison Supply Company, Fort Worth, TX, a distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies. Chip Hornsby, an Advent operating partner and former CEO of Wolseley, joined Morrison as CEO. Hornsby and Stephen Hoffmeister, a partner with Advent International, recently spoke with Associate Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier about the goals for Morrison, the differences between private equity-backed companies and public companies, and the importance of focusing on people when trying to grow.
Hornsby was also featured in the April 2012 Executive Briefing. Watch his interview here.
MDM: Because different private equity firms have different goals for the companies they invest in, could you tell me a little bit about Advent’s philosophy?
Stephen Hoffmeister: We were founded in the ‘80s as a venture capital firm, and as a legacy of our founding, we are very much a growth-focused investor. Our goal is typically to double or triple the size of the businesses in which we invest. Our philosophy is to support growth in our companies in a way that is reasonable and sustainable and to do it in a way that those achievements are permanent in the long term. When you think about this context and what we can accomplish, it is reasonable to think about substantially growing the size of Morrison Supply over a four- or five-year timeframe.
MDM: What attracted Advent to Morrison?
Hoffmeister: Morrison is the leader in the Southwest plumbing supply market, and we really view that as a terrific position in a relatively more attractive market. The Southwest market, in terms of the macro-market as well as in the general economy, is in a relatively better place than most of the rest of the U.S. Candidly, we’re looking at a lot of opportunities both within the re…
Amazon’s new website, AmazonSupply.com, will cater to the B-to-B market for industrial and scientific supplies.
This two-part special report, published in MDM Premium, examines the practice of sharing point-of-sale data between distributor and manufacturer. The report is based on results from an MDM survey on POS as well as interviews with distributors, manufacturers and industry channel management experts.
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The articles in this report were published in MDM in the March 25, 2012, and April 10, 2012, issues.
Part 1: POS – An Exercise in Trust
In part 1 of this report, MDM Editor Lindsay Konzak looked at the hurdles to a broader acceptance of customer data-sharing in independent distribution channels and how those hurdles may be holding channel partners back from higher profitability due to greater transparency. Obstacles include distrust, a resource gap for both distributors and manufacturers and distributor-manufacturer market misalignment.
Part 2: The Untapped Potential of POS
In part 2, Konzak examined opportunities for distributors and manufacturers to use point-of-sale data more strategically to identify and capitalize on opportunities in their markets. This article also discusses the biggest constraint to capitalizing on POS: It requires a large investment in technology, culture and collaboration to do it correctly.
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In the recent MDM Webcast, Operating for Profit: The Coming Revolution in Supply Chain Finance, Jonathan Byrnes, senior lecturer at MIT and author of “Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink,” said companies need to take advantage of a new approach to their supply chains that can grow profitability and tighten relationships with customers. Here’s a summary of the webcast, now available on-demand or on DVD at www.mdm.com/operatingforprofit.
Imagine what your competitor could do in terms of customer service that would be your worst nightmare.
Jonathan Byrnes, senior lecturer at MIT, posed this scenario to attendees of the recent MDM Webcast, Operating for Profit: The Coming Revolution in Supply Chain Finance. When he’s asked his students in the past, he said the answer from many has been a competitor finding a way to provide service that made a customer or vendor better off in ways their companies could not.
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