We’re starting to see, and hear, rumblings in the M&A market. Many have wondered when this would start in the distribution industries. With credit tight, it has been a challenge. And banks loath the word “construction” (must be that they […]
Electrical distributors have been hearing about solar, and other renewable energies, for a couple of years. Most have avoided the market and at the same time, many solar manufacturers have shied away from distributors, preferring instead to sell direct or […]
And like they say “c’est la vie” (or, according to a definition on Urban Dictionary, “Oh well, h_t happens). While the company can spin its third quarter worldwide performance, we’re only focused here in the States. Some observations: Q2 was […]
We were at the NAED Eastern Regional Conference in New Orleans last week. While attendance was on the light side, which people attribute to the economy and that the IMARK and A-D meetings immediately preceeded it, conversations with distributors and […]
We wanted to title this “Looking Forward to 2010”, however, we debated on the word “forward” given the forecasts that we’re seeing. Consider: “There is so much uncertainty about the first half of next year that until you have a […]
The past 12 months, needless to say, have been an economic maelstrom for many. Compounding the issue has been which metrics to measure your performance by? Year over year numbers became inconsequential given 2008’s performance through the first three quarters […]
According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, its purchasing managers index (PMI) increased last month, marking the eighth straight month this has occurred. Zhang Liquan, an economist with the Development Research Center, said “the survey indicates that China’s […]
In a market that many economist project to be flat for a while, manufacturers and distributors are looking at their back office to identify where they can gain efficiencies. Many companies rely on older ERP systems and only utilize between […]
In a challenging / uncertain market, it’s always nice to have customers who publicly commit to spending money. We’re not talking about commercial or residential projects, but renovation opportunities.An aspect of the market that continues to provide opportunities is the […]
A little bit of a “mishmash” of things we’ve been thinking and seeing recently that we’d like your thoughts on marketing funds, Infor and GE Automation (and Industrial). Marketing Funds (Co-op and MDF) – distributors love them (and think they […]
