Graybar unveils new brand strategy and logo

Graybar (www.graybar.com) recently unveiled a new brand strategy that reflects an increased focus companywide on offering supply-chain logistics and service solutions for its customers across the United States.

The announcement also included the unveiling of a new Graybar brand mark, the first such major revision in 78 years. The company says the new mark reflects its successful transition from a "pick-pack-and-ship" company to one of America's largest providers of managed distribution and supply-chain services.

"Our new brand strategy better reflects our business today," says Graybar chairman, president, and CEO Robert A. Reynolds Jr. "We have evolved into a supply-chain powerhouse, offering a wide range of services that lower costs and allow customers to focus on their core businesses."

Graybar has expanded its capabilities in the past decade, the company says, to better compete as well as to serve its customers. The company says it has enhanced its technology leadership, using information technology and logistics capabilities to raise the bar on performance and value for its customers and suppliers. In addition, Graybar has completed a zone warehouse strategy that it says improves its ability to provide back-up inventory and hard-to-find items to customers within 24 hours.

In announcing its new brand strategy and logo, Graybar pointed to several key improvements it has made recently:

• Deployment of a $90 million enterprise resource planning program that links Graybar's branch, zone, and district facilities in the U.S.;
• Expansion of product portfolio in the areas of security and industrial automation;
• Development of the Verified Independently for Performance (VIP) verification program;
• Increasing its nearly $500 million in inventory nationwide by 10%.

Richard Offenbacher, senior vice president, comm/data business for Graybar, says that the customer who has gotten used to walking up to a Graybar counter for cabling products will see very little change in the actual purchasing experience.

"We have gone from a 'box mover' to a critical link in the supply chain," he says. "Our people are what make the difference. With this branding initiative, our own people understand what we're all about today, as opposed to what we were years ago."

He adds that on the job site, some contractors have noticed and benefited from the changes in recent years. "One example is design assistance," he comments. "On many large jobs, we bring a trailer on site to be available throughout the project."

Offenbacher adds that the company has taken several steps in terms of training, including a traveling road show that visited all regions of the continental U.S. this year.