Anixter Sales People Selling To End Users

What Mr. Leatherwood states he's doing in NC is HIGHLY illegal. Unless he is registered by the NC Alarm Board and has a security alarm license - he is overtly breaking the law. (see NCGS-74D). If an integrator (or anyone) cares to file a grievance the Alarm Boards Phone # is 919 788-5320

I am thinking all the "Bad business move" votes are saying it is bad for their business and not bad for Anixter's? As one of the large end users mentioned above, we have bought directly from Anixter for 20+ years, but they are more expensive than other options so we rarely use them any longer.

I have not posted often lately an even when I do, I have tried to me a bit more civil. We have been very busy on our end and I while I have a very hectic day ahead, I will make time for this topic.

I have to be honest here. Technically, I don't see anything wrong with the add. It is a matter of interpretation. Mr. Leatherwood's add (and I have not had the pleasure) says he "supports" end users. Legally "support" can be defined a lot of different ways. Just as equally, so can "Business Development". I am quite sure that if he were questioned by the SBI (they actually investigate a complaint) he would not go so far as to incriminate himself.

Axis, Genetec, Sony, Honeywell and tons of others also have sales reps all over that "consult"; Anixter is not unique. They try to sell their products. They are everywhere, all day hawking their products. That is what they are supposed to do. As long as they are demonstrating their products or lines, giving general advice, I don't see a violation of the law (I am not a lawyer, but I have been doing this for 32 years).

I am a proponent of the alarm board. I am a strong advocate. It was created to protect the consumer (not integrators); not just residential but commercial as well. Slammers give us all a bad name. I want them licensed and I would appreciate it if they all acted professionally. But they don't so we need some sort of governance. We need somewhere we can go that can offer a legal remedy to make them stop. I don't appreciate my chosen profession being dragged through the mud any more than anyone else. I applaud the board and its efforts.

One interesting observation I can make is in NC, the Alarm Board has no jurisdiction until someone actually files a complaint. They are not out across the state seeking out lawbreakers like the police seek out someone who is speeding. There actually has to be a complaint filed by a license holder or an end user before they can or will get involved.

Manufacturers made a decision long ago it was to their advantage to have a personal relationship with the end user. Fine by me. I can't stop it. I am not even sure I should. Once upon a time I saw it as taking food off of my table and money out of the pockets of my employees. I saw it as hurting my business. I adjusted my vision; I now see them as an extension of my sales force and it is free to me. I have learned to make it work for me.

Mr. Perry quotes a portion of the code that says, and I am paraphrasing "they can be registered by a license holder for a period of 48 hours". A license holder is clearly not an end user. You are legally entitled to install a new sink or dishwasher in your own home but that does not make you a licensed plumber. That to me is not even open for debate. End users are exempt, but they are not licensed. I would also enjoy seeing how many 48 hour reports are filed with the state. I would imagine not many and certainly not as many as the law requires. Everyone in this state would be in violation of that one.

The NC Alarm board is comprised of serious contractors and those law-abiding contractors of this state have done a good job cleaning up their industry. There are not near as many "slammers" as there used to be.

Look, slammers gotta eat folks. The Anixters of the world asked them to put on a suit and tie, give them a title and some polish, a business card, a LinkedIn profile, offer them a paycheck and an opportunity to succeed in life. Okay, so as it turns out, you can put lipstick on a pig. That one should earn me a free dinner at the next Anixter road show!

This is more about business than anything else. Is Anixter in violation of the law? As it stands, probably not. I seriously doubt they have any, and I mean ANY valuable expertise in the installation of anything they sell from any perspective. If an end user has a full technical grasp of what they are doing Anixter is probably providing a service to them. They can buy at below suggested retail - far below. That is the service they are really providing, and that separates them from the true manufacturers. If that end user buys it from Anixter I bear them no ill will. Buy it, install it and service it; just don't call me when things go wrong and don't bear me any ill will for saying no. Call Anixter.

Is Anixter a supplier of ours - No. I simply do not trust them to respect my relationship with my customers. Foxes are as much a part of God's creation as any other animal and I think they serve some value; they are at least fun to watch. But they are not welcome in my henhouse.

Now, back to work.

Everyone,

Time to suck it up. Products are becoming more 'plug and play' and larger end users in most cases have their own qualified installation crews.

AXIS has been feeding fuel to the fire by selling through the IT channel which traditionally sells direct to the end user. Who do you think Ingram Micro and Synnex (to name a few) sell to??

I think what Anixter is doing is smart. They already 'touch' the end user so why not position key security product with the end user and bring in one of their faithful integrators?

Every distributor has sold product to an end user. Most have moral, legal and business reasons why they would not but when it's a school board that employs trained techs in Fire, Burg and Access why wouldn't a distributor sell to a school directly?

Let's not even begin to talk about Amazon/Alibaba/ and every other internet based resellers of security gear.

The landscape is changing. Time to adapt or die.

It takes away business from companies and ultimately a decent paycheck from technicians that have dedicated years to learning this trade in the long run. I 1000% agree with Ethan if you say you dont and do then you are deceptive,and a crooked organization that cannot be trusted and I do not trust any of them, ADI does it, Anixter does it also.

Its a slap the face of the very people that keep their doors open, too bad soo sad for City's that have staff for that matter so does every apartment community, Hotel and even Professional Baseball fields, where does it stop?

Not really harsh, but no the case in this scenario. That is because I didn't give you every single detail. So here are more details and even more reason why not to do business with Anixter specifically and to limit communication with manufacturers (although not always possible) as you metioned.

This specific example was developed by our company exclusively. We worked tirelessly to ensure that we kept the competition at bay and worked to get the project in by the end of the year for financial purposes. Due to the size of the sale it was registered with the manufacturer and they had to be fully plugged in to fulfill the order prior to years end. Not only was it registered (for the volume discount), but the manufacturers rep was fully plugged in as well as numerous executives. This specific manufacturer had a separate business development division internally that focused on key vertical markets. This one crafty BD guy saw the opportunity and weaseled his way into purchasing and negotiated an additional discount and arranged the sale to be completed through Anixter direct. Thus their dealer (me), their rep firm, and others were denied the sale and all margins or commissions thereof.

As you quoted yeah they got their stuff but who is going to service it? This is where integrators miss the boat as I said. Margins on "stuff" are what make business in this industry successful. Other integrators can make a great living servicing other people's stuff. Thats great for them. However, I will focus our organization on making margin on "stuff", AND money installing it, AND money servicing them after the fact. Other industries that lose their ability to sell and make money on "stuff" typically have difficulty surviving. We all got a first hand look at this by watching the AV market when TVs became so commoditized and the margins shrunk to single digits. Now consumers buy their own stuff with the proliferation of the internet and big box stores and installers are offering $59 flat panel TV mounting.

There is no doubt that consultation, design, installation and service are key. No matter what, you have to protect margins on equipment. I have walked away on good terms from more than one noteworthy "key" client because they changed the rules of engagement. When they make the switch to buying their own hardware, licenses, and even having a data contractor to do cabling we politely bow out. I have remained friends with the executives of those companies and have watched them struggle with trying to find a national integrator to install their stuff. Even today they reminisce of the days when they had the service that our company provided without all the headaches of trying to do system design, purchasing, RMAs and managing multiple vendors to try and get a system across the finish line. Ironically enough in most cases the business comes back.

All Distributors sell direct! They either do this openly (like Anixter), or they do this through shell companies to hide the fact that they are selling direct. These shell companies are also responsible for moving product to the websites we see selling security gear. If you are an integrator you have surely seen names show up on bids that you never heard of coming from places like NYC or Las Vegas. If you are smart, you should never place a job name on a PO or drop ship gear to an end user site. Your end user will open up the box and there will be a flyer with your distributors contact info and Special Pricing.