Distribution Council Expects Data Reporting Project To Be Ready By Late Summer

By summer's end, seven distributors plan to make their aggregate sales and inventory numbers available to anyone willing to pay for them.

The data will allow manufacturers and Wall Street to better benchmark and forecast demand, says Carol Miltner, CEO of the Global Technology Distribution Council.

The Irvine, Calif.-based council plans to select one of two finalists to oversee the project by the end of the month, Miltner says.

The council's seven U.S.-based members will provide information weekly to track sales by SKU. Each distributor's individual sales would be hidden; only an aggregate number would be released, Miltner says.

"We've had a major house on Wall Street say they want to beta it with us," Miltner says. "These guys can't wait to get their hands on it."

The seven U.S.-based distributors are Arrow Electronics, Avnet, Bell Microproducts, Ingram Micro, Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Synnex Information Technologies and Tech Data. About a year later, the council's seven foreign members will also participate in the project, Miltner says.

Subscription rates have not been determined, says Steve Raymund, chairman of the council and chairman and CEO of Tech Data.

"We're going to offset some of our costs," Raymund says. "More importantly, this will raise the profile of the distribution channel."

v

,>

Tweet

   

More Channel Programs