Case Scenario 2: B.B. Mangler

question 52

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, an acronym for maintenance, repair, and supplies. MRO products are typically small and fairly inexpensive (such as light bulbs and washers), but often needed on short notice. Mangler 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 United States, including Puerto Rico (90 percent 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). How should Mangler respond to the threat of new Internet-based entrants?

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Definitions:

Productivity

The efficiency with which resources are used to produce goods and services.

Differentiation

The process of distinguishing a product or service from others to make it more attractive to a particular target market.

Tangibility

Tangibility refers to the physical nature of a product, distinct from services or digital products, which can be seen, touched, and owned physically.

Sustainability

The practice of maintaining processes or states in ways that do not deplete the resources or harm the environment for future generations.