From the Source: Electrical Distribution Meets Modern Day
Orignally published in Strategize Magazine January/February 2009 © 2009 Avenir Publishing, Inc.
After a quarter of a century, OneSource Distributors, LLC, is producing annual sales in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars. The company's goal over the next three years? Double that.
Since 1983, OneSource has enacted numerous strategies to make this goal a possibility. It's no wonder customers flock to it - the company provides effective, low-cost distribution for many of today's most recognizable electrical manufacturers and it supplies a range of electrical products used for maintenance, repair, operations, new construction and utilities. It's Southern California's premier source for quality electrical products.
"We're extremely agile," says Michael Smith, COO of OneSource. "We build our infrastructure and technology around customers' specific needs."
Currently, OneSource has eight alliance partners it holds major contracts with, and the company has put together custom web interfaces for each one. The company's value-added services do not end there - OneSource also works with customers on project packaging, logistical services and long-term inventory management. "We're very strong in all of those regards," says Smith. "The value add is really the key to our business."
The company's nearly 300 employees make adding value possible with a staff consisting of multiple engineers, customer service and sales representatives.
There are currently four regional sales divisions for OneSource. Headquartered in Oceanside, California, the regions include San Diego, Orange County, Greater Los Angeles and a utility division which serves California and Arizona, Yet its presence spans outward from there with 12 local stores - nine in California, one Yuma, Arizona, and one in Tijuana, Mexico.
TARGETED EFFORT
To commemorate its 25th anniversary, OneSource took in $287 million in 2008 – a long way for a company that literally started at zero.
“There are a couple reasons for our growth,” explains Smith. “First, it’s a dedication to meeting the requirements and the needs of customers so there’s a strong culture of customer commitment.”
That culture has lead to tight relationships, including the newer venture in utilities. “We’ve always been aggressively looking for other alliance partnerships with customers and now we’re looking outside of our primary market areas for similar opportunities,” says Smith.
The second strategy that the company’s rapid growth can be attributed to is its focused effort – rather than simply stocking and selling electrical equipment to anyone looking to buy, the company consciously directs its sales to specific markets.
“We started out primarily as an industrial distributor and over the years have strategically added markets to our basket that have helped us to grow,” says Smith. “We’ve stayed away from residential and commercial construction markets and focused on markets that are more recession-proof, like manufacturers of consumables, OEMs and government facilities.”
APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
Of course, targeting specific markets has not made OneSource forget about smaller customer opportunities. Using technology, OneSource consistently attempts to reduce cost and increase convenience for all customers. It launched a new website in December 2008 to further that goal: http://www.1sourcedist.com.
“It’s a case where we felt we had opportunities with small and medium-sized customers that we were missing out on, primarily because we focused our sales efforts on larger customers,” explains Smith. “The website is a deliberate effort to try and create a tool that those customers could use very easily on their own.”
The website is both user-friendly and intricate. Product spotlights and a simple checkout system make it quick and easy to have an order on its way within minutes, while the ability to browse the online ecatalog could keep leisurely customers busy for hours – just a sample of its array include batteries, conduit fittings, architecture drives, high-intensity lamps, power tools and many more products.
Like all of OneSource’s technological efforts, the website was built entirely in-house. This provides the company with a hands-on approach when offering online solutions.
“We’re constantly adding new products and capabilities to the site,” says Smith. “We’ve actually had two new releases in functionality since we released it in mid-December.”
Currently, approximately 55 percent of OneSource’s business is generated electronically.
STRONG AND STEADY
It seems the website and subsequent increase in OneSource’s electronic orders could not have come at a better time.
“Everyone’s going to face challenges in 2009, but we are extremely optimistic,” says Smith. “We’re not seeing a slowdown in our business and we’re still seeing lots of new opportunities.”
One recent opportunity is now one of OneSource’s largest contracts. The company is one of two electrical suppliers on the preferred supplier list for The Walt Disney Company. The contract signals the beginning of OneSource’s East Coast efforts as the company plans to open a facility in Orlando to service the contract.
“We do have a local sales presence in Florida, but now we’re making the move to add the physical inventory in that area,” says Smith. “As our business builds with this contract, we’ll be adding resources to better support the needs of Disney.”
The past three years have each seen the company grow at a rate of 15 to 20 percent, but OneSource expects slightly less for 2009. In response, it is holding expenses at the 2008 level.
“We’re going to grow without any additional expenses, just by being fiscally prudent and taking the right opportunities instead of every opportunity,” says Smith.
An up-to-date budget, a strategy to target strong markets and the calculated implementation of technology makes OneSource a company prepared for modern living – and ready for whatever comes next.
OneSource Acquires Berkley Engineering in Honolulu, Hawaii
OneSource Distributors, Oceanside, CA is pleased to announce the acquisition
of certain assets of Berkley Engineering, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii. Berkley
Engineering is the authorized distributor for Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
for the Hawaiian Islands and American territories in the South Pacific. Berkley
has been servicing the South Pacific for over 50 years providing customers with
Rockwell Automation/Allen Bradley products and services. Additionally Berkley is a
leading supplier of pumping related products for the municipal water/wastewater industry
and industrial and institutional markets according to Berkley owner and President Christy
Walsh. “OneSource brings significant resources to Berkley customers, suppliers and employees,
and we are looking forward to being part of the OneSource Team.”
OneSource Distributors operates 12 sales centers and 4 distribution centers servicing
California, Arizona, Baja, Ca. and now Hawaii with over 25 million dollars in inventory
and annual revenues of just under $300 million. OneSource’s primary customer market
segments are Industrial/MRO, Institutional/MRO, OEM, Infrastructure and Utility. OneSource
has approximately 300 employees with 10 technical automation and power distribution engineers,
an Assembly and Contract Manufacturing Division, a Logistical Services Group and a Project Packaging Division.
Bob Zamarripa, President and Founder of OneSource say’s, “Berkley Engineering is a good
fit for both of our companies and our major suppliers. We are a leading Rockwell
Automation/Allen-Bradley distributor in a number of territories and look forward to
growing market share for them as well as all of our key suppliers” in the Industrial,
Infrastructure, Institutional and Utility markets in Hawaii and in the American territories.
For more information about OneSource, go to www.1sourcedist.com or contact OneSource marketing at 800-266-8088.