Kennametal CEO: Manufacturing needs a rebranding.
Posts By Lindsay Konzak
Private label and e-commerce top the list of popular content on mdm.com.
MDM's Investment Bank Guide for Distributors outlines investment banks' primary activities.
In recent 7 Minutes With ... interview, David Ruggles talks about success in safety.
Some buying and marketing groups and distributor cooperatives have developed private brands to help members compete more effectively in a competitive landscape that includes more aggressive private brand marketing among larger distributors.
This is the final article in MDM’s series on private label in wholesale distribution. This article includes three groups and their approach to private label:
- National Distribution & Contracting Inc. (Heath care)
- IDC-USA (Industrial/Power Transmission)
- Pro-Link (Janitorial supplies)
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Or purchase this report in the MDM Store.
Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- The Drivers of Private Label in Distribution
- Strategies for Private Label Success
- Private Label & Channel Conflict
Many master distributors – also known as wholesalers or redistributors in some sectors – offer a private label alongside national brands in their portfolios. This article provides a snapshot of master distributors that offer private brands.
This is a sidebar to the recent article on buying & marketing groups and cooperatives that offer their own brands for their members. To read the full series from MDM on private label in wholesale distribution, click here.
Not a subscriber? Purchase the full Private Label in Wholesale Distribution report in the MDM Store.
Nominate your company for the 2014 MDM Market Movers.
In new MDM Special Report, we present the pros and cons of private label.
For the fourth year, MDM is recognizing distributors that stand out in their markets.
Nearly 60% of manufacturers in recent survey do so.
While the margin and branding benefits of selling private label products may be attractive to distributors, such a move can create tension in the channel. This article examines the potential challenges and how distributors and manufacturers may be able to mitigate them.
This is the third in a series of articles from MDM on private label in the wholesale distribution industry.
This article includes:
- Drivers of conflict between manufacturers and distributors
- How distributors balance private label and national brands
- Why some manufacturers offer contract manufacturing for private label and others avoid it
Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more.
Or purchase this report in the MDM Store.
Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- The Drivers of Private Label in Distribution
- Strategies for Private Label Success
- Special Report: The Industrial Vending Boom
Wholesale revenues, excluding manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, reported $989 billion in e-commerce revenues in 2012, or 20.1 percent of the industry’s $4.9 trillion in sales that year, according to data recently released by the U.S. government. This article looks at how overall sales growth for the industry compared with e-commerce sales growth from 1999 to 2012, with four graphs showing the trend.
The three things distributors need to focus on to grow profitably.
E-commerce revenues for wholesaler-distributors grew 6.1% from 2011 to 2012.
As the face of the workforce shifts, managers need new skills to connect and effectively lead a more diverse employee base. A new book, Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences, was written to address this need. MDM Editor Lindsay Konzak recently spoke with the book’s co-author Jane Hyun, an executive coach and global leadership adviser to Fortune 500 firms.
This interview includes Hyun's take on:
- Why it's important for manager's to be able to "flex" their management styles
- How managers can bridge the power gap
- The cost of not considering different management styles
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- MDM Interview: Avnet's Roy Vallee Reflects on Changes in the Industry
- Where Managers Blunder
- Commentary: Re-evaluate the Human Capital in Your Company
In 2013, Grainger surpassed $3 billion in sales from e-commerce channels, representing a third of total company sales. Paul Miller, vice president of global e-commerce for Grainger, spoke with Editor Lindsay Konzak about Grainger’s approach and plans for e-commerce.
This article includes:
- How the distributor approaches e-commerce
- Grainger's multichannel approach
- Where Grainger sees opportunity with technology
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- The State of E-Commerce in Distribution
- Grainger's E-Commerce Evolution
- Beyond Amazon: E-Commerce's Impact on Wholesale Distribution Markets
Balance your competitive advantage with new ideas and technologies.
About 40 percent of distributors in a recent MDM survey said they offer private label. This article examines the growth of private label in B-to-B markets, shifts in the private label landscape and what’s driving distributors to offer private label brands to their customers.
This is the first in a series of articles from MDM on private label in the wholesale distribution industry.
This article includes:
- MDM Survey results on number of distributors offering private label
- What's driving distributors to offer private label
- The value of a distributor brand
Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more.
Or purchase this report in the MDM Store.
Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- 10 Distribution Trends to Watch in 2014
- Profits in a Year of Strong Growth
- Special Report: The Industrial Vending Boom
In this two-page report, available to download in PDF after log-in, we feature a new, expanded quarterly report with data on merger and acquisition trends and financial metrics for the largest publicly traded distributors across diverse sectors.
In partnership with Houlihan Lokey, an investment banking firm, we have added data on M&A activity trends across all industries (not just distribution), as well as valuation multiples for deals in all industries.
