Vantage Group has formed an alliance with Edge Marketing & Procurement to better serve their strategic account customers. Vantage Group, based in Crystal Lake, Ill., is a sole-source electrical supplier that concentrates on "national account" customers. Vantage, with more than 700 branches, is owned by All-Phase Electric supply Co., The Branch Group, Inc., Crescent Electric Supply Co., Platt Electric Supply, Inc., Rexel, Inc., and Westburne, Inc. Edge Marketing Procurement is a cooperative of 66 electronic component distributors with 113 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Vantage Group already has data, voice and signal divisions. Vantage President Sean Leahy says electronic components and computer-related products present the most logical area for the company to expand into next, and he believes the relationship with Edge will round out the group's product offering. Edge will team with Vantage Group as a second-tier supplier, allowing the customer to receive all electrical and electronic products in one shipment, utilizing one purchase order. All Vantage Group branches will have computer access to all of the Edge inventory information and will be able to order online. The two companies will be sharing system technologies and will team up during bid and proposal phases.