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VNA's network of Rockwell Automation distributors service national account contracts for automation equipment and MRO supplies.
Remember all the hoo-hah several years ago about how dot.coms would rewrite the rules of the national account game? Internet startups had grand visions about how their Web-based business models would give Fortune 500 industrials fast-and-efficient ordering options for virtually any product on the factory floor or in the tool crib. Then came the Internet bust, the recession, and the move overseas by many industrial firms in search of lower production costs.
These factors created a much smaller industrial market for distributors. For many of the remaining industrials purchasing $22-plus billion in industrial electrical supplies, the goal of reducing their overall electrical spend still remained.
Rockwell Automation distributors, which represent almost 25 percent of the industrial electrical market, recognized the need to develop an efficient process for national account contracts - which accounted for a significant percent of the remaining industrial market-but still offer customers with local supply options. To create serve this customer niche, these distributors formed and funded Vanguard National Alliance.
Over the past three years, Vanguard National Alliance (VNA), worked under the radar to position its 50-plus electrical distributors as the channel of choice for national account contracts covering industrial automation equipment and industrial MRO supplies.
Since 2002, the organization has grown from two people and a business plan to an electronic hub serving members' national accounts needs. VNA now employs 13 people and serves over 20 accounts with more than 1,000 locations throughout North America. The annual value of existing contracts exceeds $150 million, and VNA is processing more than 100,000 transactions annually.
VNA's distributor network has a very important distinction that differentiates it from other national account options: all VNA distributors carry the Rockwell Automation line and its coveted Allen-Bradley brand. Together, with...