ACQUISITIONS MUST ADVANCE COMPANY'S STRATEGY: ONE SIZE MAY NOT FIT ALL
Companies with acquisitions on the brain need to show how those acquisitions advance their growth strategy, according to the McKinsey Quarterly. A deal should advance market share and the company's ability to build a leading position in a market. In MDM's recent Reader Survey on the economy, nearly a quarter of respondents said they plan to make an acquisition in the next six months.

Some deals underperform, this article says, because executives take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to all of their deals. One way they do this is by using the same process to integrate acquisitions for back-office and sales force synergies. "It is critical for managers not only to understand what types of deals they seek for shorter-term cost synergies or longer-term top-line synergies, but also to assess candidly which types of deals they really know how to execute and whether a particular transaction goes against a company’s traditional norms or experience," according to the article. Registration required. More...

IS CHINA LOSING ITS COMPETITIVE EDGE?
IndustryWeek reports that more than half of foreign manufacturers in China believe the Asian giant is losing its competitive edge to other low-cost countries like Vietnam or India, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce and Booz Allen Hamilton. The survey indicated that seven of 10 respondents see appreciation of the Chinese currency the yuan as one reason for the waning competitiveness. In addition, more than half of respondents cited rising wage costs.

That said, less than 20% of those surveyed plan to relocate out of China or expand capacity in other countries. Those who are named Vietnam as an attractive low-cost country. More...

SERVICES PART OF ECONOMY SHRINKS LESS THAN EXPECTED
Here's a good overview of economic indicators released by the government and other benchmarking organizations in the past week. Bottom line: The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, reflecting 90% of GDP according to Bloomberg, rose in February but still showed contraction. Productivity growth was faster than expected; Bloomberg says businesses reduced employee hours to reduce costs.

Still, Federal Reserve officials are expected to cut benchmark interest rates again this month. A chief economist for a securities firm in New York said: "We are close to recession-like conditions, but we are not completely in them yet." Consumer spending has slowed and inflation is a concern. The most recent GDP report showed growth in the fourth quarter 2007 at 0.6%. More...

PRINTER PARTS DISTRIBUTOR TAPS UNTAPPED MARKET
Wisconsin-based Parts Now has grown into a $97.8 million-a-year company with 270 employees and offices in Florida, California and Canada, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The distributor serves offices that instead of becoming paperless are adding printers. With more printers, this article says, come more opportunity for machines to break down. Companies expect same-day or next-day service. The market is big: Up to 3% of a company's annual sales can go toward printing expenses.

Parts Now has just added a new service for its customers: managed print solutions. The distributor assesses a company's printer network, analyzes how much and what type of printing each is doing and recommends to the company how it can improve its printing efficiency. More...

MDM Distribution Case Studies

FOOD DISTRIBUTOR EXTENDS BAKERY'S REACH
A food distributor in Georgia is helping one bakery expand its reach throughout the Southeast. "It's was the first order out the door, and we're very excited about it," one owner says in this article in the local paper. "We're going to significantly widen the range of our business, and people in Atlanta are going to be enjoying our products." In return, the bakery buys its baking ingredients from the distributor. More...