Two Zerion clients were recently in the news because of another acquisition. Sonepar USA announced it will be acquiring Independent Electric Supply (IES), a California-based electrical distributor with 24 branches and a top 20 electrical distributor ranking.
Also, Epicor introduced cloud-based, on-demand access to Eclipse, called Epicor Distribution Express Edition (Epicor Express).
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The May/June issue of Industrial Distribution magazine showcased the results of its annual Survey of Distributor Operations. A positive industry outlook was certainly present, with 77% of distributors saying sales increased this year, and 86% believing they’ll increase next year. Speaking of sales, the survey noted an incredible statistic that demonstrates how relational our industry is: 85% of respondents believe relationships are the primary reason people do business with them.
Also, 28% of the respondents noted that acquisitions came up during the last year. If you’re one of them, and you missed our article titled Acquisition Help: Crucial Tips for Integrating a New Location, be sure to check it out. In spite of acquisition activity, 78% said their growth strategy is to do more business with existing customers.
As for technology trends, only 28% of respondents said they were using an ERP system and 11% of respondents said they were using RF technology. However, 14% intend to adopt RF in the next two years. Additionally, 75% of distributors polled expect their online sales to increase in the next year.
There’s a summary of ID’s survey stats on TEDMag.com, or you an access the entire report-filled issue here.
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Things are looking up! SupplyHouse Times released it’s 2011 Premier 150 report, and it documents lots of positive industry info on performance, acquisitions, outlook, and more. Other growth news included HD Supply’s report of gains in the first quarter of 2011.
On the IT front, two interesting surveys were published, one that divulges 90% of companies have been hacked; and, another that shows CFOs have a lack of faith in IT.
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Acquisitions continue to dominate the distribution news-scape. Industrial Supply Magazine’s cover story this month covers a friend of Zerion (D&D Tool and Supply in Vista, California) who recently became part of OneSource Distributors. Some big acquisitions in the IT space also made headlines this month, with Microsoft set to takeover the hugely successful Skype service.
If you’re thinking of selling, here’s another article to help you figure out the right time.
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The big news of the month was covered extensively in our feature story … Apax Partners is set to acquire Activant. Another hot topic acquisition has been Infor’s takeover of Lawson. And, Industrial Supply Magazine discusses all of the activity and what they see on the horizon with this article: Buying Spree.
Technology news you should be aware of includes the announcement that Activant has created a mobile app for Proof of Delivery; and, Gartner says BI software is a hot thing to buy lately.
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In ERP news this month, CIO Magazine says users are calling for more flexibility with their systems. The article says, “Over a third of businesses cite greater flexibility as the top change they would make to their existing ERP arrangements. This is closely followed by higher standards of customer service from their vendors (29 percent).”
In construction news, the cold weather is having an impact on spending.
And, in distribution news, Sonepar buys a portion of HD Supply Electrical.
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In ERP news this month, IT spending may be on the rise, but CIO Magazine says that ERP investments will go down in 2011. They’re also saying that it’s the year of social media integration for ERP software.
Distributors might be interested in reviewing Industrial Supply Magazine‘s new Distribution Software Guide, which was developed by Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group and compares the software packages available to distributors. Also, take note on some important dos and don’ts for acquisitions in the distribution space, as these are once again becoming a hot topic.
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Rexel, Wolseley, HD Supply, Wurth, Grainger… Sound familiar? Industrial Distribution has put out its list 2009’s Big 50 Distributors, and those folks round out the top 5. You can read the complete list here.
In other industry news, Affiliated Distributors announced executive changes; and, a decision has finally been made regarding the Oracle/SAP lawsuit, with a jury awarding Oracle more than a billion dollars.
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Congratulations to Kathleen Ellison, owner of Zerion client B&K Electric Wholesale! She was recently honored for her community service. In other industry news this month, two good-news stories caught our eye: Industrial Supply magazine is reporting that new housing starts are on the rise. Also, Supply House Times says that sales are up for Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration distributors. FIND OUT MORE of the who’s who and what’s what of software, IT and distribution …
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