MDM Premium Archives - Page 190 of 547 - Modern Distribution Management

Log In

Premium Member Dashboard

All your exclusive premium content in one location.

Border States
The distributor's major acquisition of Dominion Electric is just the latest piece in what has been a rapid 13-year expansion. Mike Hockett breaks down what Dominion adds to Border States and how it aligns with its growth history.

Premium Monthly

Find deeper cybersecurity analysis, a case study on Motion, career advice from industry executives and best practices for knowledge transfer, talent management and more.

Market Insight Reports

The report features in-depth articles that recap the year that was 2023 in distribution dealmaking, a full rundown of every deal we covered in October-December, the latest EBITDA trading multiples and more.
Find a wealth of data and analysis extracted from the 3Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey, including trending charts and figures for revenue and expectations, plus plenty of interesting commentary.
Find a wealth of data and analysis extracted from the 3Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey, including trending charts and figures for revenue and expectations, plus plenty of interesting commentary.
Our 2023 third quarter M&A report features in-depth articles on activity by Ferguson and Veritiv, and chronicles the overall quarterly pace of new deals.
See MDM’s analysis of 2Q23 M&A activity pertaining to wholesale distributors, plus M&A financial benchmarks and recent Premium articles that had an M&A focus.
whatsbusinessworth

Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for as little as $24.80/month!

Sophisticated buyers with the same information often come to different conclusions about the value of a company. This article presents a case study that illustrates the wide spread of valuations in a transaction; it also examines why these buyers view companies so differently.

Any distribution company owner considering a sale asks himself a fundamental question: “What is my business worth?” For those companies sold in a one-off transaction, no one will ever know how the result might have been different had the competitive tension of a process with multiple parties been present – though the result is unlikely to have been worse. That genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

On the flip side, as an M&A advisor, I am regularly brought into failed situations where owners that thought they had a “full and fair value” with that one-off buyer become disappointed that the deal drags out or never yields a transaction as they had expected. These owners often turn to …

Uncertainty permeates today’s business environment. In fact, I’ve spoken with a number of distributors over the past couple of months who are holding off on expansions or hiring because of it. As National Association of Manufacturers chief economist Chad Moutray told MDM last month: “There really has been a sitting-on-the-hands mentality both on the part of consumers on businesses.”

That said, there are always …

Middle-market distributors are growing, but that growth and the optimism that accompanies it is tempered by a number of factors including weakness in Europe, rising commodity prices, continued housing crisis, and uncertainties connected with the upcoming election and policy issues, including health care.

These are the findings from a newly released Distribution Monitor report, sponsored by the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and McGladrey, a provider of assurance, tax and consulting services. The NAW Institute is the research arm of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

“Despite their concerns, distributors are generally …

Each hurricane season, there’s a renewed effort by many businesses to implement disaster plans, but most still do not have a formal, updated plan for business continuity. This article looks at the first steps a distributor should take to ensure that its business can keep running should the unplanned happen.

F&F Industrial Equipment, a one-branch industrial distributor in Middletown, NY, has been proactive about developing a business continuity plan in the case of disaster.

While the distributor itself has never been affected by a natural disaster or other major disruption, it has witnessed customers’ experiences with storms and other unplanned events and the havoc those can wreak if a business is not prepared.

“Knock on wood nothing happens here,” says Frank Fasano Jr., vice president of operations. But, he says, “you really never know.”

As recent events have shown, a disaster can hit anywhere. Consider …

MDM recently conducted a survey with Steve Epner and Brent Grover on how distributors manage their software applications. This article provides an overview of the results, with a focus on why many distributors have been slow to bring their software applications up to speed.

Every once in a while, we get a stark reminder that time flies. This happens often in the world of application software. All of the sudden, a company gets a notice that its current software will no longer be supported. What do you do? Upgrade? Change? Hope for a …


Defining and selling value is a critical skill set in markets where customers have a range of sourcing options. Yet how well does your company analyze its market position in terms of value? How well are your associates trained in communicating and delivering this key differentiator that keeps you ahead of competitors?


The article on page 4 of this issue explores how manufacturers, distributors and sales representatives view the state of&nbsp ; value-add." It offers some tools to analyze your company's ability to perform extended value activities in key customer segments.


Survey results indicate that value-add definition and communication is just as tough a battle as five years ago. But there seems to be a broader recognition of its importance to staying competitive. ...
The industrial product group listed here - MRO Pneumatic Products - represented a market in 2006 of $1.9 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis. These charges show the top 10 industries, by SIC code, consuming these products and the 2006 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the nine government market ...

At the May Industrial Supply Association annual meeting in Las Vegas, industry consultant William McCleave presented the results of a survey of ISA members, The Future Impact of Size and Value Content on Industrial Distribution." This article outlines one of the key findings of that report: the importance of value-add in distribution.


How is value-add being defined in distribution today? As noted in these pages before, the term has been used so heavily that it risks losing meaning. At the same time, most wholesale distribution executives agree that market battles ahead will center on how well their companies define and sell value.


In a recent survey of Industrial Supply Association members by consultant William McCleave, most respondents felt that value-add ...

Join Brent Grover on Thursday, June 21, 2007 for a 90-minute audio conference, 1 p.m. Eastern.

What's your exit strategy? No matter when or how you plan to leave your business, there are key issues to address now to ensure a smooth transition. Whether you plan to sell or pass the torch to your son, daughter or key employee, this 90-minute audio conference presents the options to consider and fundamental decisions you need to make to have the right pieces in place at the right time.

Join Brent Grover as he shares his unique experience as the former CEO of the paper distribution business his grandfather started, as well as the varied knowledge gained through his current consulting business focused on wholesale distribution ...

April 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers'sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $351.9 billion, up 1.3 percent from the revised March level and were up 8.8 percent from the April 2006 level. The March preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.1 billion or 0.3 percent.

&nbsp ;
April sales of durable goods were up 0.8 percent from last month and were up 7.8 percent (+/-2.0%) from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies were up 2.7 percent.
&nbsp ;
April sales of nondurable goods were up 1.8 percent from last month and were up 9.7 percent from last year. Compared to last month, sales of ...
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May for the fourth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 67th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
&nbsp ;
The PMI rose to its highest level in the past 12 months. Both the New Orders and Production Indexes indicated growth. The ISM Inventories Index indicates that manufacturers are now in their 10th month of inventory reduction. A major concern of respondents is the rate of price increases covering a wide variety of ...

Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. - increased at an annual rate of 0.6% in the first quarter 2007, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.


The estimate is based on more complete source data than advance data released last month, when the increase was estimated at 1.3%.


In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.5%.


The increase in GDP was offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, residential fixed investment and federal government spending. Imports, a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, ...

Despite a soft first quarter, the U.S. economy should gradually improve through the end of the year, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Industrial Outlook, a report that analyzes 27 major industries.


Manufacturing industrial production expanded at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter 2007, but the MAPI forecast envisions an improved 3 percent growth rate in the second quarter.&nbsp ; For the year as a whole, though, the report predicts that manufacturing production growth will decelerate from the 4.7 percent recorded in 2006 to 2.1 percent growth in 2007, before rebounding to 3.3 percent growth in 2008.

The manufacturing inventory correction is over, the inexplicable decline in exports has passed, the January 1, 2007, EPA diesel ...
Revealing the profit challenges and opportunities in the power transmission/motion control industry, a recent report from the Power Transmission Distributors Association supports forecasts made by PTDA members in late 2005 of moderate growth in sales with no change in gross margins in 2006.
&nbsp ;
The Power Transmission Distributors Association announced the results of its 2007 PT Distributor Performance Report, based on 2006 data.
&nbsp ;
When asked in October 2005 to forecast sales for 2006, 44% of distributor respondents indicated that they expected sales to increase between 5% and 9.9%. The actual sales growth rate for a typical PTDA distributor, as reported in the 2007 PT Distributor Performance Report, fell right in the middle of that range, with sales growth in 2006 ...

Canada's wholesalers had a third consecutive year of strong growth, with much of the impetus coming from the two westernmost provinces.


A combination of continued strong sales of machinery and electronic equipment and high demand for consumer-related goods propelled the industry to another record high, according to Wholesale Trade: The Year 2006 in Review," a recently released report from Statistics Canada.


Nationally, wholesale sales increased by 6.3 percent to $497.4 billion (in current dollars) in 2006, slightly better than the previous year's 5.2 percent increase. The gain in overall wholesale sales contributed to another profitable year for wholesalers, as industry profits rose 15.1 percent to a new record high of $16.6 billion.


This ...

The mainstream media is poised to shout recession" from the rooftops, particularly as June tends to be a slow news month. We have heard consistent reports of flat to slowth growth, but no one is talking about cliff diving in manufacturing sectors. Some markets have stayed strong into May.


Even distributors into the tough automotive sectors are not exactly surprised, and have seen strong orders in other areas such as heavy equipment and aerospace. And while residential markets remain bleak, those distributors with commercial or industrial construction customers have seen those markets stay strong.


No one likes volatile market conditions, but if there is any consistency, it is that while some traditional markets are down, others are emerging to temper the damage. And ...

Modern Distribution Management's April Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.42% from the previous month, and up 3.3% from April 2006.


Summary of&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:


April 2007 Index 270.8
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index&nbsp ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
May 2006 Index 262.1
April 2006 Index 262.1


Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for April 2007, listing the ten individual product categories that ...

Both the overall U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the manufacturing sector will decelerate in 2007 before regaining a measure of strength in 2008, according to a new report.
&nbsp ; &nbsp ;
The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts that inflation-adjusted GDP growth, 3.3 percent in 2006, will slow to 2.3 percent in 2007 before rebounding to 3.0 percent in 2008. By supplying major assumptions for the economy and running simulations through the Global Insight Macroeconomic Model, the Alliance generates unique macroeconomic and industry forecasts.
&nbsp ;
The deceleration in economic growth is primarily a consequence of the continued housing slump, soft business investment, a surprise downshift in exports, and inventory adjustment," said Daniel ...
Industrial production increased 0.7 percent in April after a decrease of 0.3 percent in March. Output in the manufacturing sector moved up 0.5 percent in April; the increase was led by advances in motor vehicles and parts and in high-technology goods.
&nbsp ;
The output of utilities increased 3.5 percent; temperatures were relatively warm in March but fell below seasonal norms in April. Mining output decreased 0.3 percent in April. At 113.0 percent of its 2002 average, overall industrial production for April was 1.9 percent above its year-earlier level.
&nbsp ;
The rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.4 percentage point, to 81.6 percent, a level 0.6 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.
&nbsp ;
Market Groups
All major market ...
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following residential construction statistics for April 2007:




Year-to-Date Percent Change (through April 2007)





<td style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt ...
Release taken from Statistics Canada.&nbsp ; All dollars are Canadian.

Canadian manufacturers had a strong March, following a slight increase in factory shipments in February, as previous supply disruptions caused by the rail strike and the refinery fire in Ontario were rectified.


In March, manufacturers shipped goods worth an estimated&nbsp ; $50.1&nbsp ; billion (Canadian), representing a&nbsp ; 2.8% gain over the previous month. For the first quarter, shipments were up&nbsp ; 1.0% compared to the fourth quarter of&nbsp ; 2006.

Using constant dollars, which take price fluctuations into account, the volume of shipments rose&nbsp ; 1.6% to&nbsp ; $45.1&nbsp ; billion, the fourth increase in five months.<br ...
March U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $371.1 million, according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and the Association For Manufacturing Technology.
&nbsp ;
This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 34.9% from February, and up 1.4% from the total of $365.89 million reported for March 2006. With a year-to-date total of $945.27 million, 2007 was up 7.1% compared with 2006.


These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
&nbsp ;
The U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) report, jointly compiled by the two trade associations representing the production and distribution of ...

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.7 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.&nbsp ; This advance followed a 1.0-percent rise in March and a 1.3-percent increase in February.&nbsp ; In April, the index for finished goods excluding foods and energy remained unchanged for the second consecutive month.&nbsp ; At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods rose 0.9 percent following a 1.0-percent increase a month earlier, and the crude goods index fell 1.5 percent after increasing 3.2 percent in March.

&nbsp ;
Among finished goods, prices for consumer foods moved up 0.4 percent in April following a 1.4-percent increase in the previous month, while ...

Economic growth in the U.S. is sustainable throughout the remainder of 2007, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in their spring 2007 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations for the remainder of 2007 are encouraging in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. These projections are part of the forecast issued by the Business Survey Committee of the Institute for Supply Management& trade; (ISM).

Manufacturing Summary
The survey panel of purchasing and supply management executives remains optimistic with 62 percent of respondents predicting revenues to be greater in 2007 than in 2006. This is reflected in their expectations of a 5.6 percent net increase in revenues for the period. To support the revenue growth expectations, ...

Investment Banking Directory

Work with a banking partner that knows your business. Get detailed information on investment banks with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.

Featured Content

Data-Driven Decisions: Opportunities and Challenges in the Data Revolution

Distributors of all sizes and in all verticals are ambitiously investing in data capabilities…

Elevate Your Sales Game: The Ultimate CRM Playbook for Distributors

Customer expectations are evolving, buying behavior is shifting, and competition has become more intense….

What It Takes to Embrace AI in Distribution for Next-level Business Success

Find out how wholesale distribution executives in various stages of adoption have practically applied…

Elevate Your Sales Game: The Ultimate CRM Playbook for Distributors

As distributors adapt to changing dynamics, CRM software has evolved to become much more…

Market Prospector

  • Build strategic sales plans.

  • Determine market and demand.

  • Create smart prospect lists. 

Turn your sales data into actionable data with Market Prospector.  A web-based SAAS tool that gives you insight into your market, your territories, your customers and new prospects too. 

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

Our daily newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.


&nbsp ;