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Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of more than 500 distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the distribution industry in diverse sectors. Here is a summary of fourth-quarter results and distributor and manufacturer expectations for 2013.
Even with uncertainty and a disruptive mid-week holiday schedule, respondents to the fourth-quarter 2012 MDM/Baird Distribution Survey passed the revenue expectations they had in the third-quarter survey. Fourth-quarter revenues were up a modest 3 percent overall for respondents, slightly higher than the forecast 2.4 percent growth. All segments represented in the survey reported positive growth in the quarter.
Respondents expect revenues to grow 3.4 percent in first quarter 2013 and raised full-year expectations to …
I’ve been a hockey fan since the 1960s. But someone has to say it: Stop paying attention to Wayne Gretzky’s advice about skating to where the puck will be. It’s been beaten to death countless times by consultants and motivational speakers.
For a long time, it worked well to follow the Great One’s advice. Good distribution companies played where the puck was – they executed well in established markets. Great distribution companies could see where the puck was going – they dedicated resources to find and monetize emerging growth opportunities.
Growth is harder to come by today; market …
Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group says distributors need to break out of the traditional mold of doing business and think differently about how to stand out in an increasingly busy market. In today’s business climate, distributors must do more to maintain their edge.
This is an exclusive summary of the recent MDM Webcast, What Distributor Innovation Looks Like in 2013: Rethinking Your Business Model. The program is available on-demand or on DVD at www.mdm.com/innovation.
Market share incumbents held hostage to the old ways of doing things are losing ground to “rule-breakers,” innovative market share challengers with a fresh perspective, according to Indian River Consulting Group’s Mike Marks in the recent MDM Webcast, What Distributor Innovation Looks Like in 2013: Rethinking Your Business Model.
History shows us that incremental improvements to the same business model can lead to success. The successful automotive company Porsche, for example, has focused on continuous product development along the same platform for years. And Marks says …
This report was formerly called the Inflation by Commodity Group Report.
This report is researched and produced by MDM editors. View the Third Quarter 2012 pricing trends report here.
These product groups provide a snapshot of inflation trends based on the Producer Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fourth quarter 2011 pricing levels are compared with fourth quarter 2012, and third quarter 2012 with third quarter 2012. Full-year 2011 pricing levels are compared with full-year 2012.
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Industrial
Construction
Electrical
Other Related Electrical
Power Transmission/Bearing
Fluid Power
Plastics
Fasteners
Hardware
Tools
Gases/Welding
Paper
HVACR/Plumbing
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Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Engineered Products Division for $1.475 billion in cash.
Goodyear Engineered Products manufactures hoses, conveyor belts and power transmission belts, as well as tank tracks for military and off-road vehicles. With approximately $1.5 billion in sales, the company serves more than 4,500 customers around the world in a variety of end markets. Following the transaction, the company's headquarters will remain in
Akron, OH
, and current management, including President and CEO Timothy R. Toppen, will continue to lead the business.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is one of the world's largest ...
While countless offices in this country have the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship pool sapping the life out of productivity this week, I'm guessing there are at least a few pools estimating the date of sale for Home Depot Supply. I don't know what the Vegas odds are, but the probability is close to 100 percent in my book that we see a deal happen. Here's why I think it will be sooner rather than later.
Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said that it was important to determine a course of action for HD Supply so that the company didn't have a foot on the dock and a foot on the boat, as MDM reported on the company's refocus on retail.
Let's get out the spyglass and look at that statement. If ...
Brady Industries, Las Vegas, NV, a janitorial supply distributor, has acquired Boulder Creek Supply, a Boise, ID-based company.
Boulder Creek was founded in 1999. With this acquisition, Brady Industries expands its geographic footprint to seven locations with plans for further expansion in 2007.
"The Boise acquisition compliments our regional coverage of the Idaho market, said Travis Brady, president of Brady Industries. "With branches in Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls, this acquisition strengthens our regional service capabilities."
Brady Industries supplies janitorial supplies and commercial cleaning equipment and service in the Las Vegas market. Brady has expanded its offering to include a complete warewash product line along with its already extensive kitchen cleaning and sanitation program.
Distributors, to say the least, are facing more uncertainty now than in recent memory.
In a recent MDM Webcast, Manage the Panic of 2009: New Rules for New Economic Realities," Evergreen Consulting's Brent Grover says we are now seeing the worst business conditions in his decades of work in the industry.
"Distributors are not accustomed to dealing with this uncertainty," he told participants. "Or the speed of decline in demand and prices."
Now more than ever leaders need to avoid hunkering down, and instead strategically prepare their companies for the upswing. When the downturn does reverse course, fewer companies will emerge, ...
