All your exclusive premium content in one location.
From a fireside session at MDM’s 2024 SHIFT Conference, we glean insights from Stellar Industrial Supply CEO John Wiborg about the distributor’s constant drive toward win-win solutions for customers and suppliers.
Latest Prime Advantage report finds manufacturers are optimistic, but elections are causing some to put off plans to invest.
Year to date, manufacturing technology orders are up 5.4 percent over the same period in 2011.
Expert: ‘Don’t do it just because it’s cool.’
Brent Grover: What you leave behind is more important than where you go.
Strategic alliances between distributors should be aimed at improving business for all participants. But this isn’t always the driver of organizations that enable independent distributors to get together.
“Our experience is that it’s often reactive in nature,” says Brent Grover, principal at Evergreen Consulting LLC and author of The Little Black Book of Strategic Planning for Distributors. Grover recently took part in an “Ask the Author” webcast event with MDM, answering audience questions about his new book, which is available at www.mdm.com/littleblackbook.
In his experience, the frequent focus on national accounts …
In the recent MDM Webcast, Managing for Profit: Five Building Blocks of Success, Jonathan Byrnes, senior MIT lecturer and author of Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink, offers strategies in five key areas that can, when applied together, help managers lead companies to a better bottom line. The webcast, the final in a four-part series on managing for profitability, is available on DVD at www.mdm.com/islands.
Even in leading companies, 30 percent to 40 percent of the business is unprofitable. At the same time, 20 percent to 30 percent is highly profitable, enough to subsidize the loss, according to Jonathan Byrnes, senior MIT lecturer and author of Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink. While many business leaders tend to focus on the unprofitable aspects of their businesses in an attempt to fix what’s broken, Byrnes says companies would do well to focus more on those products and initiatives that contribute to the bottom line.
“If you don’t secure that business, you’re really in trouble,” he says.
In the recent MDM Webcast, Managing for Profit, Byrnes recommends leaders focus on five building blocks that, when executed effectively and simultaneously, can …
More than half of U.S. counties have been designated as natural disaster areas after the worst drought in more than 50 years ravaged crops and pastures this summer. As of Aug. 28, 2012, nearly 53 percent of the country was still in moderate drought or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, released weekly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Manufacturers and distributors serving these markets will or already have seen an impact as the drought continues to dampen economic activity.
The impacts have been widespread, from cracking …
News briefs from Aug. 25 – Sept. 10, 2012.
This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.
Table of Contents:
Are you a subscriber? Simply log-in to view this issue.`
Modern Distribution Management’s Industrial Inflation Index measures a cross-section of industrial supplies.
Acquisition expands Singer Equities’ reach in Louisiana.
Organic sales for the manufacturer of identification solutions fell 0.4 percent for the fiscal year.
The acquisition will enable an expanded industrial hose product line.
Profit fell slightly to $2.5 million.
Options exist to help offset rising health insurance costs under ‘Obamacare’
Profit increased six fold to C$1.1 million (US$1.1 million).
Pent-up demand offset by uncertainty, declining activity in Europe and concerns around China.
To help companies realize the potential of the Smarter Commerce revolution, IBM teams with First Data to establish retail commerce best practices.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has signed a new five-year contract to extend its use of IBM Emptoris solutions.
Acquisition expands rubber products’ distributor’s reach in Rhode Islands and Massachusetts.
December 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, were $337.1 billion, up 1.8 percent from the revised November level and were up 8.6 percent from the December 2005 level. December sales of durable goods increased 1.1 percent from last month and were up 7.0 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of hardware and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were up 4.2 percent and sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies increased 2.9 percent. December sales of nondurable goods were up 2.5 percent from last month and were up 10.2 percent from last year.
Inventories . Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales …
Last week saw a feeding frenzy of rumors in distribution, with action on both sides of the Atlantic. The biggest hunters suddenly became the hunted.
Release taken from Statistics Canada
Taken from Statistics Canada
Canadian manufacturers ended  ; 2006  ; on a positive note as factory shipments increased for the second month in a row in December, thanks to strength in the transportation equipment sector.
The year-end rally was not enough to offset several months of weak performances earlier in the year. As a result, total shipments for  ; 2006  ; as a whole edged down  ; 0.6% to  ; $587.4  ; billion from the peak level in  ; 2005.
December’s increase was widespread, with  ; 13  ; sectors representing  ; 74% of total output improving. On a monthly basis, factories shipped goods worth an estimated  ; $49.7  ; billion in …
Privately-owned housing starts fell 14.3% in January, compared with the revised December estimate. Starts were down 37.8% below the January 2006 rate. Single-family in January were 11.2% below the December figure. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 276,000.
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.6 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This decrease followed a 0.9-percent advance in December and a 1.8-percent jump in November. At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods moved down 0.7 percent compared with a 0.5-percent increase in the prior month. The crude goods index decreased 6.3 percent after rising 2.8 percent in December.
December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $321.35 million, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 6.9% from November, and down 0.5% from the total of $322.81 million reported for  ; December 2005. With a year-end total of $3,889.75 million, 2006 was up 26.8% compared with 2005.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
2006 was an exceptional year, with the highest U.S. consumption since 2000, says John B. Byrd III, AMT President. Growth should continue in 2007, at a more modest pace, as …
Modern Distribution Management’s December Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.23% from the previous month, and up 3.47% from December 2005.
Summary of  ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:
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
April 2006 Index 262.1
March 2006 Index 262.1
Febuary 2006 Index 261.2
January 2006 Index 260.2
December 2005 Index 258.1
Please click below on Related Document to view a print-ready pdf of the  ; MDM Inflation Index for December 2006, listing the ten …
Abrasives represented a market in 2006 of $2.76 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis.
These charts show the top ten industries, by SIC code, consuming these products; and the 2006 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the nine government market regions.
Click on Related Document below to view a pdf of the chart and end-user consumption by region.
…For a printable pdf of these statistics, click here. …
Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, identifies four key trends in Facing the Forces of Change: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain, put together every three years by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. He described these trends in a presentation at the NAW annual meeting in Washington, D.C., last month.
W.W. Grainger, Chicago, IL, has released its updated 2007 catalog with more than 138,000 MRO products, an increase of 23,000 over last year.
Prices charged by manufacturers in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), were up  ; 1.4 percent in December from the month before thanks to a significant increase in prices for petroleum and coal products, primary metal products, and motor vehicles. Higher prices were observed in the majority of product groups.
The value of construction spending put in place in 2006 was $1, 198.0 billion, 4.8% above the $1,143.7 billion spent in 2005.
The value of private construction in 2006 was $928.7 billion, 3.3% above the $899.0 billion spent in 2005. Residential construction in 2006 was down 1.9% …
Prices charged by manufacturers in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), were up  ; 1.4% in December from the month before thanks to a significant increase in prices for petroleum and coal products, primary metal products, and motor vehicles. Higher prices were observed in the majority of product groups.
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January after a one-month expansion, while the overall economy grew for the 63rd month, according to the latest manufacturing ISM Report on Business.
After a slight rebound in December, the manufacturing sector did not grow in January. New Orders remained positive, but little change has taken place as the PMI has averaged 50.5% in the past four months. In overall terms, manufacturing lost momentum in the second half of 2006 and is starting 2007 in a less than robust fashion, according to the Institute for Supply Management.
Results show a decline in the Inventories Index to the lowest level since February 2002, indicating a significant liquidation is taking place in many supply chains. …
Company Snapshot
We strive to be problem-solvers in the marketplace by providing end-user training. It's a service the customer values and one that our competition can't easily duplicate. It adds real value to what we offer and helps us build stronger relationships with our end users.
More than eight years ago we began receiving requests from customers for maintenance-related training. We viewed these requests as opportunities for us to grow our business.
We sat down with those customers to determine the specific areas where they needed …
Dear Editor:
Sales. November 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $331.3 billion, up 1.0% from the revised October level and were up 7.9% from the November 2005 level. November sales of durable goods increased 1.2% from last month and were up 7.7% from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 5.0% and sales of electrical and electronic goods increased 2.9 %. November sales of nondurable goods were up 0.7% (+/-0.7%) …
As the lead article in this issue illustrates, the inflation threat largely driven in 2005 by energy price hikes has moderated, particularly the last few months of the year. Wholesale prices rose 1.1 percent in 2006, compared to 5.4 percent in 2005. But wholesale prices except food and energy – the core inflation rate – moved up 2 percent in 2006 following a 1.4 percent gain in 2005.
Work with a banking partner that knows your business. Get detailed information on investment banks with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.
Build strategic sales plans.
Determine market and demand.
Create smart prospect lists.
Turn your sales data into actionable data with Market Prospector. A web-based SAAS tool that gives you insight into your market, your territories, your customers and new prospects too.
Our daily newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.
By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.
Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:
