Anixter is a great company. Having worked there and experienced it firsthand, I truly believe this. That said, their biggest weakness isn't their messaging / marketing...it's their ability to execute on the messaging consistantly across their branches. This is almost always the hardest part since each branch is run individually and markets vary, but it lends itself to disbelief when even a single branch does something contrary to what is being told to the market by corporate.
For instance...the selling direct issue. I know that some branches do this, and for some, it's extremely limited and easy to justify. For others, they just don't get it and act in a way totally against what it is they preach. At the end of the day, the actions of some branches hurt the credibility of others that act responsibly, and it all comes down to inconsistency -- the corporate message is not consistent with the activity at the branch level.
To be fair, I have mostly seen the violating branches to be those that have a much smaller security footprint, as the larger branches that do a lot tend to respect the rules a lot more because they know by breaking them, it hurts their business. Unfortunately, word travels quickly and the actions of even one salesperson at Anixter can negatively affect the credibility of many other branches.
I'm not really sure how the integration of Tri-Ed has played into all this, or if it has at all. I'd guess that by moving all the pure security dealers / integrators over to the Tri-Ed side of the house eliminates the potential for the inside salespeople within Anixter (that do much more than just security) to violate this "golden rule", but I'm honestly not sure.
I know this is long, but I'll sum up by simply saying that I do believe Anixter is much more than just box movers. Their supply chain services provide significant value to those that have figured out how to utilize them properly, and I've witnessed firsthand the value that a solid relationiship with them at a corporate and branch level brings to the mix in terms of strategic positioning on new deals as well as new business development. The key is to understand that not every branch is perfect and make sure that if you choose to work with them, that there are certain things (like selling direct) that are just unacceptable.
One thing for sure is that if you make Anixter a significant partner for your business, they will in turn make you a significant part of their's, and this will almost always make your business stronger...at least in my experience.