Seven of SmithKline Beecham's preferred electrical distributors have formed an alliance to supply the giant pharmaceutical manufacturer with MRO supplies for 13 manufacturing plants.
Peter Bellwoar, vice president of sales and marketing, Colonial Electrical Supply Co., Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., finalized the deal late last month, two years after he forged a similar alliance with seven electrical distributors to supply Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J.
Through the alliance, SmithKline Beecham, based in Philadelphia, Pa., expects to lower its purchasing costs with consolidated ordering and with volume purchasing discounts if it standardizes on product lines that the alliance's distributors sell, Bellwoar said.
SmithKline Beecham will purchase electrical MRO products through the alliance for its plants in Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and South Carolina.
As with the Merck alliance, some of the participating distributors compete against each other in local markets or belong to different buying/marketing groups that go after these contracts. The participating distributors are Colonial Electrical Supply; Allied Electric Supply Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.; Cameron & Barkley, (through its Augusta, Ga., branch); Fromm Electric Supply Corp., Piscataway, N.J.; Warren Del Caribe, Carolina, Puerto Rico, (part of Warren Group, Houston, Texas); Williams Electric Supply Co., Johnson City, Tenn.; and United Electric Supply Co., St. Louis, Mo. Cameron & Barkley, Colonial Electric Supply and Warren Del Caribe were also part of the Merck deal.