Ewing Foley, Lester, Open New Rep Warehouses

Earlier this week Gene shared thoughts on rep warehouses and how they can be used by a rep as part of their sales strategy. Yesterday I spoke with one who commented that two of his manufacturers are interested in inventorying locally with him as they see the potential for local inventory to be a sales tool.

Other manufacturers prefer to centralize / regionalize inventory, and it can help them with their fill-rates.

There is no one answer but, in speaking with another rep, he commented that, while local inventory can help, none of it is free and the cost, especially due to labor, continues to rise. We discussed how it is essentially a consigned inventory and since the rep doesn’t get paid until 30-60 days after the sale. The cost needs to be recouped through higher selling price to realize appropriate income (a non-starter) or they need warehousing compensation (and there are various models.)

Recently, two reps announced new warehouses / locations:

Lester Sales opened a new warehouse in Mt. Comfort, IN, which is on the east side of Indianapolis. The new warehouse consolidates inventory from other locations under 162.000 SF and offers drive through access. In addition to will-call and co-loading, they can now deliver across a 300-mile radius, enabling the warehouse to serve much of the Lester territory, hence being a potential resource for all of its manufacturers.

Ewing Foley opened a warehouse in Houston, TX. They are being innovative and are sharing it with one of their manufacturers, RMC, according to a posting from RMC that was reshared by Scott.

According to Gary Lessing, CEO of Ewing Foley, the warehouse, located in Generation Park in Northeast Houston, “Today’s large projects demand speed, scale, and flexibility,” said Gary Lessing, CEO of EFI. “With many of our customers now requiring global project support, EFI is uniquely positioned to deliver added value to the entire supply chain.” Further, the facility will warehouse electrical and data products, full manufacturing capabilities, 3PL services and technical support.

Given Ewing Foley’s coverage, 21 states, we classify them as “quasi-national” and with Lester covering 12 states, it is interesting to see reps adding / expanding to such large warehouses.

As they say, the only reason to expand is if there is demand. These companies would not be taking on the responsibility, and the expense, if there wasn’t a plan to monetize, and profit, from the endeavor. Presumably, and I’m sure unwittingly, they took some of Gene’s advice and considered the strategic benefits and I assume there is mutually-beneficial supplier support.

Rep warehouses … the right tool for some independent manufacturer representatives.