A company wide rolling budget that forecasts four years into the future at a high level and one year in detail is in place. I say all this to tell you that we do not take growth lightly. All managers have access to our plans. A secret in this case is a bomb waiting to go off. We also have a form of open book management.
Distribution is ultimately a game of maximizing economy of scale.
It is a cash flow business not a gross margin business. NEC's primary goal, in order to remain relevant for our members, is to increase its market-share. Additionally, market-share is relatively easy and inexpensive to acquire in a young vs. a mature industry. Whether it is procurement, territory covered, number of truck runs, size of orders, promotions, collection of payment, size does matter at distribution. We had to grow to keep pace with the industry.