May 19, 2009 - Modern Distribution Management

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May 19, 2009

Avnet 3Q Sales Decline 16.3%

Avnet, Inc., Tempe, AZ, reported sales of $3.7 billion for the third quarter fiscal 2009 ended March 28, 2009, a decrease of 16.3% over the prior year period. Organic sales were down 22.3%.
 
Profit declined 83.2% to $18 million. Excluding charges related to restructuring, integration and other special items, profit fell 58.2% to $44.8 million.
 
Electronics Marketing sales fell 20.1% year over year to $2.1 billion, with declines occurring in all geographic regions.
 
Technology Solutions sales of $1.60 billion were down 10.8% from the prior year period. While still down, sales in this segment appear to have stabilized, CEO Roy Vallee said. ...

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HD Supply White Cap Agrees To Acquire ORCO Construction

HD Supply White Cap, Costa Mesa, CA, has agreed to acquire ORCO Construction Supply in Livermore, CA. ORCO is an independent supplier to construction professionals in California, Arizona and Nevada, operating out of 11 distribution locations and two rebar facilities.
 
The acquisition of ORCO's assets provides HD Supply White Cap with an increased ability to provide world-class service to our existing and prospective customers, said Tom Lazzaro, president of HD Supply White Cap.
 
ORCO Construction Supply will be fully integrated into the HD Supply White Cap business and will begin operating under the HD Supply White Cap brand following the closing of the transaction. ...

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Anixter Sales Decline 14% In 1Q

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, a global distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, fasteners and other small parts, reported sales for the first quarter ended April 3 were $1.27 billion, down 14% from the year ago quarter. Profit declined 54% to $25.7 million.
 
Organic sales decreased 7% in the quarter, led by declines in the European OEM supply business which declined 32%. Emerging markets and North American OEM supply posted organic sales growth of 3% and 12% respectively.
 
Following a very soft finish to 2008, and an extension of those market conditions into the first few days of 2009, we were pleased to see activity levels rebound to a limited degree and then stabilize through the balance of the ...

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A Case Study on Effective Knowledge Transfer

I spoke with David DeLong, author of "Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce," for the latest issue of MDM. He shared with me a case study about effective knowledge transfer from the older generation of workers to the younger.
 
DeLong features a host of case studies on his Web site, www.lostknowledge.com. In one, about manufacturer Boston Scientific, the company faced the retirement of highly skilled workers who were specialists in knitting, weaving and yarn texturizing work on intricate machines that knit or weave special yarn into tube-like grafts. (This plant specialized in manufacturing surgical grafts and fabrics used to treat vascular ...

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Downturn Exacerbated by Bad Information in Supply Chain

As the recession rolls on and the focus turns to recovery, an article at WSJ.com points out that maybe things didn't have to be as bad as they were. Lack of clarity in the supply chain has resulted in supply problems at many levels.

In fact, many companies cut dramatically due to uncertainty in demand when the market slowed; as a result, some cut more than they needed to. In some cases, shipments of goods were decreased more than demand had contracted. Whether production can catch back up when demand rebounds is one question some experts are asking.
 
Bad information or lack of information can lead to decisions that may not ...

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MDM Launches Group on LinkedIn

Modern Distribution Management has launched a group on the popular business networking Web site, LinkedIn. Join "Modern Distribution Management's Independent Distributor Network" by clicking here. The group is open to distribution and supply chain professionals, manufacturers who sell through distribution and all professionals interested in the independent distribution channel. We hope you will use the group as a place to network with other distribution professionals and to discuss issues of importance to the distribution channel. We look forward to seeing you there!
 
MDM is also building a presence on Twitter. If you'd like to follow us there, please visit ...

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