Napa Auto Parts 2003 Annual Report Download - page 12

EIS CONTINUES TO GROW ITS NORTH AMERICAN PRESENCE AS A SUPPLIER AND MANUFACTURER
OF CRITICAL PRODUCTS FOR THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING AND REPAIR
MARKETS. WE ARE PURSUING NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE CUSTOMERS IN THE UNITED
STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO WITH WORLD-CLASS MATERIALS AND SERVICES.
During 2003, EIS was focused on improving our sales trends of
the last few years as well as controlling costs. The result was an
improved operating margin, an increased earnings contribution to
the Company, and a sales trend that is moving in the right direction.
This performance is encouraging for us, as our sales finished up in
the fourth quarter, suggesting a positive trend for 2004.
GROWTH INITIATIVES
We have targeted new products, new fabrication opportunities,
and new services as potential growth areas. We continue to expand
our offering of industrial MRO products as we seek new fabrication
opportunities. Our fabrication unit is engineering expanded product
solutions that are specific to each customer's needs. We continue
to concentrate on new applications for the electrical and electronics
markets and we have identified opportunities for non-electrical
industrial and consumer applications. For example, we created
fabrication processes for medical device and diagnostic assembly –
a new market for EIS.
New inventory management solutions have been an area of primary
focus. Among those we have developed are:
•On-site hardware and software tools for managing inventory
•e-business technology, including e-commerce, customized business-
to-business solutions, and bar coding capabilities
•Integrated supply management through Advanced Inventory
Management Systems (AIMS), which allows us to manage our
customers' inventory requirements and help to reduce their
total procurement costs.
Our growth initiatives are supported by our outstanding employees
who continually offer the right products and services to the more
than 20,000 customers they serve. This expertise is a great advantage
for EIS, as the right product and service solutions, delivered at the
right time, save our customers time and money.
LOOKING AHEAD
In 2004, EIS will continue to focus on sales growth and cost savings
opportunities. We believe that our on-going emphasis on new
products, new fabrication opportunities and new services is the
right strategy for growing our Company into the future.
EIS ships a full range of critical
products to their customers from
33 facilities located throughout
North America.
10
ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC
MATERIALS GROUP
3%
NET SALES BY
SEGMENT OF GPC
ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC
MATERIALS GROUP
in billions of dollars
99 00 01 02 03
0.56
0.39 0.32 0.30
0.52