February 2013 - Modern Distribution Management

February 2013

Global Competition on a Local Level

This article is part of an ongoing series looking at The Shifting Competitive Landscape in wholesale distribution. Read this and other articles in the series at www.mdm.com/shiftinglandscape.

Cross-border M&A in wholesale distribution has accelerated in recent years, adding to an increasingly busy competitive landscape. The U.S. market continues to be attractive to Europe-based distributors seeking growth outside of their traditional markets. This article looks at this trend and the impact it has had on the market.

In recent years, Europe-based distributors have accelerated their expansion in the U.S. As a result, local and regional distributors are increasingly facing local competitors backed by resources they did not have access to previously.

“As Thomas Friedman says, the world is truly flat,” says Robert Stolz, who leads Wurth Group’s North American …

Global Competition on a Local Level Read More »

Commentary: Shifting Landscape, Shifting Relationships

If there’s anything I’ve learned in my time covering the wholesale distribution industry, it’s that distributors hold one thing above all else: relationships. Even in the shifting competitive landscape, relationships have an important role in this industry.

Sure today’s distributor may look a lot different than distributorships of the past. Once-local businesses are being bought up by larger national or …

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MDM Interview: Disintermediation & Channel Conflict

Principia Consulting’s Building Products Distribution 2012 study identifies the best growth opportunities in the sector through 2014 and provides strategies for value creation and competitive advantage.

Ken Jacobson, partner at Principia, spoke with MDM staff writer Angela Poulson about the study’s findings, including increased disintermediation and how distributors can stay competitive despite e-commerce’s role in accelerating this trend.

MDM: In Principia’s 2011 survey, 50 percent of building products distributors expected industry-wide growth of at least 5 percent in 2012. What are distributors’ expectations for 2013?

Ken Jacobson: It depends on the day of the week that you’re asking. It depends on the still-looming status …

MDM Interview: Disintermediation & Channel Conflict Read More »

Download this Issue in PDF: Feb. 25, 2013

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

  • Shifting Competitive Landscape Series: Global Competition on a Local Level
  • Commentary: Shifting Landscape, Shifting Relationships
  • MDM Interview: Building Materials Sector - Disintermediation & Channel Conflict

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