Graybar Electric Company Inc
Graybar is a leading North American distributor of electrical and communications
and data networking products and is a provider of related supply chain management
and logistics services. We primarily serve customers in the construction, and
commercial, institutional and government ("CIG"), as well as the industrial
and utility vertical markets ("vertical" or "verticals"),
with products and services that support new construction, infrastructure updates,
building renovation, facility maintenance, repair and operations ("MRO"),
and original equipment manufacturers ("OEM").
Our business is primarily based in the United States ("U.S."). We
also have subsidiary operations with distribution facilities in Canada and Puerto
Rico.
We distribute approximately one million products purchased from more than 4,600
manufacturers and suppliers. We purchase all of the products we sell from others,
and we neither manufacture nor contract to manufacture any products that we
sell.
We generally finance our inventory through the collection of trade receivables
and trade accounts payable terms with our suppliers. We use short-term borrowing
facilities to finance inventory purchases and other operating expenses when
necessary, and we have not historically used long-term borrowings for this purpose.
In addition to our extensive product offering, we provide a wide range of
supply chain management services that when combined with our network of locations
are designed to deliver convenience, cost savings and improved efficiency for
our customers.
We sell products and services manufactured or provided by others primarily
through a network of sales offices and distribution facilities located in thirteen
geographical districts throughout the U.S. We operate multiple distribution
facilities in each district, each of which carries an inventory of products
and operates as a wholesale distributor for the territory in which it is located.
Some districts have sales offices that do not carry inventory. In addition,
we have seven national distribution centers and ten regional distribution centers
containing inventories of both standard and specialized products. Both the national
distribution centers and regional distribution centers replenish inventories
carried at our other U.S. distribution facilities and make shipments directly
to customers. We also have subsidiary operations with distribution facilities
located in the U.S. and Canada and a single distribution facility in Puerto
Rico.