SUSTAINING THE SHARPNESS THAT BUILDS A BUSINESS:
EDGE MARKETING & PROCUREMENT
CELEBRATES 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Ten-year-old member-owned marketing and distribution group now includes 72 members in 124 locations, representing over $435 million in annual sales;

Edge Marketing & Procurement has established a reputation for industry and innovation that reveals a history of serving the electronic, datacom, broadcast, security, electrical, systems contracting and plant management industries.

HOUSTON, TEXAS, April 5, 2001 - It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, but few businesses can claim beginnings as true to this motto as Houston-based Edge Marketing & Procurement. As the group services organization celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, company Chairman Ron Meyers says his founding the organization with partner Melissa Sealy in 1991 was inspired by the gaping vacuum that existed between independent distributors and manufacturers in the electronics industry. Addressing the vacuum, Meyers and Sealy, together with a core group of like-minded distributors, formed Edge to provide independent distributors with bulk buying power, local marketing, strategic positioning with manufacturers and financial benefits, and to provide manufacturers with a national distribution network of established, financially sound sales centers backed by a sophisticated and proactive marketing organization.

Though the organization started on a shoestring budget, it's a testament to the compelling nature of the founding vision that the Edge Marketing & Procurement membership now represents over $435 million in annual sales. The group was formed in a hotel meeting room in St. Louis in March 1991; seven companies attended, six were invited to join the fledgling group and of that six, all are still members today.

The evolution and success of Edge Marketing & Procurement owes much to Meyers' personal experience as the owner of an electronics distribution company in the late eighties and early nineties. Despite annual sales of nearly $1,000,000, he found that major manufacturers were unwilling to supply his company. Unable to match the range of products available through larger distributors, Meyers' company was effectively shut out from providing his customers with the service he felt they deserved.

Two distributor associations existed in the electronics industry at the time, but when Meyers approached them, he ran into the same resistance he found at larger manufacturers.

"There weren't simply barriers to entry, there were barriers to exist," Meyers explained. "Our goal was to provide the mid-sized and local regional independent distributorships with the same tools and expertise as the larger distribution companies. Since then we've developed into a well-run support organization servicing all-sized distribution and manufacturing businesses in the national electronics and related industries."

Today, Edge Marketing & Procurement provides a wide range of services to manufacturers and distributors. The manufacturers program offers distribution and sales benefits, local marketing, training opportunities, standardized accounting and financial best practices across the group.

Edge's distributor program is designed to accommodate the needs of smaller distributors with sales under 50 million dollars annually and also the needs of a growing number of larger distributors who are being drawn to the group by its broad product range, its unrivalled reputation for service, and its innovative marketing and distribution programs. The member program includes supplier and purchasing plans, marketing, catalog services, technology, training opportunities and conferences.

"We've built a business out of helping our members and vendors build their businesses," Meyers continued. "By staying true to that mission, our distributors and manufacturers have, over the past 10 years, continually improved their sales and the overall efficiency and profitability of their businesses. As we look forward to the next 10 years, we will continue to innovate, to expand our services and, most importantly, to work hard on behalf of our members and vendors to meet the needs of their customers across the United States and Canada."

Edge Marketing & Procurement Group is a member-owned organization of independent distributors and vendors representing the electronic, datacom, broadcast, security, electrical, systems contracting and plant management industries, who share the common goal of making their businesses better. Through the development of marketing, training and education and sales support programs coupled with the combined buying power of 72 members in 124 locations across the U.S. and Canada, the Edge Group is dedicated to elevating its distributor-manufacturer relationships in the name of stronger alliances, growing sales and improving profitability.