News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Modern Distribution Management’s May Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.18% from the previous month, and up 3.5% from May 2006.
Summary of  ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:
May 2007 Index 271.2
April 2007 Index 270.8
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index  ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
May 2006 Index 262.1
Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the  ; MDM Inflation Index for May 2007, listing the ten individual product categories that make …
The industrial product group listed here – hose and fittings – represented a market in 2006 of $2.96 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis. These charts show the top ten industries, by SIC code, consuming these products; and the 2005 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the nine government market regions.
Download this document below. For other market analyses in the MDM archives, go to the MDM Databank for a comprehensive …
Rexel, the Paris-based distributor of electrical supplies, has made three acquisitions in Belgium, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The moves follow Rexel’s bolt-on acquisition strategy aimed at broadening its footprint in Europe and North America. In the U.S., Rexel bought Tri-Valley Electric Supply, with sales of $5.5 million in 2006 in Arizona.
Praxair Distribution, Inc., Danbury, CT, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., has acquired Wilson Welding & Medical Gases, Warren, MI. Wilson is a distributor of industrial, medical, specialty gases and related equipment and supplies. The business generated sales of $20 million in 2006 and has 72 employees.
Gases distributor Airgas, …
The three Ps of process, productivity and profitability separate companies that are doing OK from ones that perform in the top tier of peers. That will continue to be the key differentiator.
The performance analysis reports many distribution associations sponsor offer a wealth of benchmark data about how well your company is doing in a range of financial performance metrics. Historically, a relatively low percentage of distributors participate in these data aggregation programs. Yet these types of tools are critical to make any kind of real change stick in your business. How else can you create realistic goals and then the specific short- and long-term steps to get there?
The report card in the area of productivity is better. Several studies have shown that distributors …
This is a summary of a recent research project on technology use conducted by Steve Epner, principal at Brown Smith Wallace consulting group.
The research project looked specifically at whether distributors in the survey sent or received electronic invoices. Less than a fifth said they did either, and even fewer sent or received a significant percentage of their invoices electronically; 150 responses were analyzed in a survey of MDM readers.
Epner also examined whether the age of the company’s top management, the age of the company, its size and the markets served affected the decision to adopt this technology. In this survey, he found no significant connection between these factors and the use of electronic invoicing.
Results
Most …
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled for the manufacturer in a pricing case that pitted the supplier against a retailer. The decision could prompt more suppliers to consider minimum resale price-setting programs.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June made it easier for manufacturers to set minimum resale prices by overturning the per se” illegality of minimum resale price agreements.
Instead, the Supreme Court ruled that challenges to minimum resale price agreements or contracts will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the “rule of reason,” a more flexible legal doctrine that requires the challenger to prove price-setting was unreasonably anticompetitive and did economic harm.
“Per se” was a much stricter enforcement that assumed that minimum price setting …
Many privately held distributors have advisory boards, but they are comprised entirely of insiders. Or the board is convened merely as a formality or legality. But a so-called real board" could help in formulating and enforcing company strategy, as well as provide a venue to ensure your wishes are carried out after you retire or in the case of a disabling injury or death.
Julia Klein, president and CEO of building materials distributor CH Briggs Co., Reading, PA, created an advisory board for her third-generation business about 18 months ago.
"I can tell you, it's one of the best things I've ever done," she says. "We had what many family businesses had -a perfunctory family board where we would pretend to meet over dinner, once a year, and have our lawyer write …
Since 1997 when the company was formed through the rollup of nine industrial general-line distributors, Industrial Distribution Group, Atlanta, GA, has seen its share of integration challenges. Charles Lingenfelter, a founding member of IDG, became president and CEO of the $550-million national distributor in November 2005. Since taking the helm, Lingenfelter has pushed hard to take the distributor from four divisions to one company.
MDM spoke with Lingenfelter recently at the Industrial Supply Association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Lingenfelter spoke of his company’s progress and the work that still has to be done to make IDG’s One Company plan a success.
MDM: Over the past 10 years, IDG has had a series of integration …
Activant Solutions Inc. has agreed to buy the Intuit Eclipse Distribution Management Solutions business from Intuit for $100 million in cash.
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Activant has identified the wholesale distribution industry as a key vertical segment for the company’s growth and expansion. The acquisition of the Intuit Eclipse business will augment its customer base and expand its technology offerings in the wholesale distribution segment.
Intuit Eclipse is a provider of business management solutions for wholesale distributors in segments ranging from electrical, plumbing, HVAC and building materials to industrial, janitorial and other durable goods supplies.
We are pleased to have Activant acquire our Intuit Eclipse business,” said David Merenbach, vice president …
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has offered to buy Dutch chemicals distributor Univar NV for US$2.04 billion (1.5 billion euro), a premium of about 37% to Univar’s closing price July 6.
Ulysses Luxembourg, controlled by CVC, will pay 53.50 euros a share for the company, which also operates in the U.S.
Univar operates a network of more than 200 distribution centres, spread primarily across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. In 2006, Univar had pro forma sales of US$8 billion. …
