Electronics — 50% Growth by 1987 (Quebec)

July 3, 2017

“The significance of electronics in the electrical distribution business will increase by 50% in 1987,” predicted Bob Shapiro, Vice-President and General Manager of Franklin Electrical Supplies Canada Ltd., Montreal. He added that some distributors had already plunged into electronics while others hadn’t even started. He saw no significant growth occurring on the electrical side.

Electronics will become predominant for many years. The need for it in future generations of computers and microprocessors will be immense, he said. The impact of electronics will change the very structure of the industry.

Already traditional manufacturers were changing their strategies. Some companies were merging, the large multi-nationals were getting out of electrical products, and various firms had started electronic divisions.

He forecasted that manufacturers and distributors would become much more closely aligned regarding the products they sell. This would result from the increasing specialization of distributors. Rather than selling the same kinds of products, he foresaw targeting specific lines.

The use of electronics by distributors themselves would influence how they do business. Their branches were basically order collection points but customers would eventually be hooking into distributors using telecommunications media as computers, personal computers and telephones, making branch operations unnecessary. Computers would be talking directly to computers. Customers would be able to place orders in the middle of the night. As well as affecting where distributors position their branch offices, the new technology would influence where they locate warehouses.

Mr. Shapiro cautioned that this hi-tech approach can go only so far. Customers would still have to deal directly with distributors to obtain technical information.

Source: CEDA: Fifty Years of Service – An Historical Review of the Canadian Electrical Distributors Association, 1934 to 1984, Kerrwil Publications. Please feel free to reach out to us any time if you have great photos, historical anecdotes or perspectives. We would love to hear from you; linegoyette@kerrwil.com.