SPRING 2022

40
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
Jim Truesdell
James Truesdell is President of Brauer Supply Company, a distributor of specialty
fasteners, insulation, air filtration, and air conditioning with headquarters in St. Louis.
Mr. Truesdell is adjunct professor at Saint Louis University and Webster University.
An attorney and frequently published writer, he is the author of “Total Quality
Management: Reports From the Front Lines”.
BIG TECH AND THE PURCHASING PROCESS
Along with all the benefits which technology has
brought to Americans, one of the most visible is the
ability to secure products quickly on line and see them
appear on your doorstep or loading dock in the next
couple of days. Consumers are able to secure those
“hard to find” items now within minutes of beginning
an on-line search. It almost seems like magic. But---as
this new purchasing channel becomes widespread, how
do we insure that it won’t become a process totally
controlled by a few powerful companies who monopolize
the channel and squelch any competitor who raises his
or her head? How do we make sure that competition
survives to keep market pressure on all parties
to uphold service levels and maintain competitive
prices? This may have particular importance for trade
wholesalers.
This concern is being addressed by a bipartisan
congressional group led by Senator Amy Klobucher (D)
of Minnesota and Senator Tom Scott (R) of Arkansas
who have recently introduced the Platform Competition
and Opportunity Act, designed to make major tech
companies demonstrate that proposed mergers and
acquisitions are not anti-competitive. A similar bill
from Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries of
New York will be voted on in the near future. As can
be expected, there is a lot of concern being raised by
people and companies on both sides of the issue.
CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE
Proponents of the legislation point to threats from
domination of platforms by a few large companies that
could include refusal to deal with rivals, restrictive
contracting, predatory pricing and excessive barriers
to entry in the marketplace. Significant opposition
exists from those who fear that this and other related
measure are too broad, could serve to block innovation,
or might hamper consumers use of on-line services.
The Klobucher-Cotton bill would expand the
authority of the Justice Department and the Federal
Trade Commission to intervene and stop acquisitions
by large tech companies which would increase their
monopoly power. The burden of proof would be
shifted to the acquiring companies to establish that
their actions would not be anticompetitive. Klobucher
characterized this as a modernizing of our anti-trust
laws to deal with our new digital economy.
Jeffrie’s House Bill would target tech companies
with market capitalizations of over $600 billion dollars.
Last June a House Anti-Trust panel approved a group
of five bills to place more control on tech giant
companies. Provisions of these included things like
keeping tech user data portable, preventing platform
owners from selling their own products therein, and not
allowing preferences to be given to selected sellers.
The panel narrowly approved these on a bipartisan vote
after spirited debate.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 118