Each year, MDM profiles two Market Leaders, who are among the largest distributors in their market segments.
Last year, I spoke with Valin Corp. CEO Joseph Nettemeyer about how services have driven growth for the industrial distributor. And Associate Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier talked with Robert Stolz, CEO of Wurth Group’s North American operations, about the distributor’s growth in the U.S.
This year we spoke with leaders from Interline Brands, which has grown significantly in jan-san, and Arrow Electronics, which has a focus on growing globally.
Here’s a sneak peek of each interview. Log-in to read the articles today, or subscribe to MDM Premium now for full access.
Tim Kolbus, Arrow Electronics Vice President of Global Logistics Services
Arrow, a global electronics distributor that is No. 2 on MDM’s list of the Top 5 Electronics Distributors, recently launched a new global brand platform. Kolbus talks about the complexity of doing business globally in his interview with Associate Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier: “You have tax issues. You have import/export laws. You have the transportation challenges of moving product in and out of a country. Environmental compliance – each country has different regulations that we need to adhere to. And then we also have the fact that we’re a U.S.-based company, and we have to adhere to the U.S. regulations, as well.”
Arrow handles this complexity by having specialists in each area. Read more from Kolbus in Arrow Electronics Plots a Global Course.
Ken Sweder, Interline Brands President
According to Sweder, most B-to-B customers want more than just a transaction online. This is what makes e-commerce different for distributors serving B-to-B vs. those serving B-to-C markets. “A lot of our folks are senior executives within very large REITs or large building service contractors or owners of commercial real estate. They want to have full visibility into exactly what’s happening at each and every one of their assets. So they’ve been looking for us to build out Web functionality that gets to product standardization or workflow approval or building out linkages with our customer’s budgets,” Sweder said.
Sweder talks with me about services and other ways the distributor is targeting the multifamily and institutional markets, as well as the distributor’s growth in jan-san over the past few years, in Interline Brands' Growth in Jan-San Distribution.
Interline Brands is No. 14 on the Top 40 Industrial Distributors list and No. 5 on the Top Jan-San Distributors list.
