Case Scenario 2: B.B. Mangler

question 151

Essay

Case Scenario 2: B.B. Mangler.
B.B. Mangler is a top U.S. business-to-business distributor of maintenance, repair, and service equipment, components, and supplies such as compressors, motors, signs, lighting and welding equipment, and hand and power tools. Its industry is typically referred to as MRO, which is an acronym for maintenance, repair, and supplies. MRO products are typically small, fairly inexpensive (light bulbs and washers), but often needed on short notice. It states its strategy as having the "capacity to offer an unmatched breadth of lowest total cost MRO solutions to business." Mangler's GoMRO sourcing center for indirect spot buys locates products through its database of 8,000 suppliers and 5 million products. Mangler has 388 physical branches in the U.S., including Puerto Rico (90% of sales), 184 in Canada, and 5 in Mexico. Customers include contractors, service and maintenance shops, manufacturers, hotels, governments, and health care and educational facilities. Mangler also provides materials-management consulting services.
-(Refer to Case Scenario 2) Historically, Mangler appears to have relied on its physical locations for market presence in the U.S. and northern South America. What threats does the Internet pose to its location-based strategy?

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Definitions:

Inhibitions

Psychological barriers or restraints that limit or hinder an individual's actions or behaviors.

Norm Intensity

The degree to which a norm is accepted and enforced within a group or organization, affecting members' behaviors and attitudes.

Cohesiveness

The degree to which members of a group or team are united in pursuing common goals and how well they bond with each other.

Social Behaviour

Actions among individuals, shaped by social norms, cultures, and societal structures, that affect and are affected by others.