Established in 1984, CDW Corporation is a provider of B2B IT services and products to the various entities of the US government and also state and federal government. The company also provides its IT services to various schools and organizations and non-profit health organizations. Apart from the United States, the company has its branches in Canada and the United Kingdom. Michael Krasny established the company as MPK Computing back in 1984. Today, CDW has approximately 10,000 employees and it has become a Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index.
Founding Story of CDW Corporation
Michael Krasny, back when the company was a newborn, took a small ad in a free circulation newspaper because he wanted to sell his computer and printer. From this moment, he got the idea of renaming it as Computer Discount Warehouse which simply became CDW. The first national advertisement run by the company was in 1985 in PC World Magazine and after two years the company published its first catalog. In 1987, CDW started offering their first services and helping customers set up their computers. Eventually, the workforce expanded and they started hiring more technical expertise.
Within less than a decade of the company’s establishment, it completed its first IPO in 1993, and its sales summed up to $247million. CDW Corporation was hiring new employees at a high rate and by 1995 it had more than 500 employees which tripled after three years. In 1997, the company established headquarters in Vernon Hills, IL, and celebrated its $1billion sales mark. Next year, a new sector of CDW was founded called CDW G which aimed exclusively at helping government and educational customers. By the end of the late 90s, CDW’s sales reached $2billion.
CDW in the 21st Century
In 2001, John Edwardson became the new CEO and Chairman of the company. The company listed on number 435 in the Fortune 500 company this year and the sales rose to $3.96billion. After a couple of years, the company made a big investment as it bought Micro Warehouse Canada, an asset of Micro Warehouse. In the following years, the company opened Western Distribution Center in Las Vegas, launched CDW Healthcare, opened new data centers and offices in various states. In 2006, the company acquired Berbee Information Network which was a top-tier reseller of IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft products and services.
On 12th October 2007, Madison Dearborn Partners and Providence Equity Partners from Chicago acquired CDW for $7billion. But the company again went public in 2013 through an IPO in the NASDAQ market under the name CDW Corporation. CDW Finance Corporation and CDW LLC are wholly owned subsidiaries. CWD Canada which is the Canadian branch of CDW has received a lot of recognition and ranked 25th in the category of large and multinational companies.
In 2011, the company started a new campaign called People Who Get IT which focused on new technology that solves everyday business problems. In 2013, the company ranked 267 in the Fortune 500 list. CDW established a new partnership with Dell, acquired a UK-based company Kelway and recently acquired Scalar Decisions, a Canadian solution provider. In 2019, Christine Leahy became the new CEO of the company.
Currently, CDW is selling a wide range of products starting from hardware equipment to providing IT solutions. Starting from computer accessories to ethernet cables and projectors, cameras, drones, microphones, smartwatches, CDW is selling every tech I can think of. The company also sells software for business applications, security purposes, communication, etc. It also provides ample of choices brand-wise.
Michael Krasny – Founder of CDW Corporation
Born in the early 1950s, Michael Krasny is a famous American billionaire hailing from Illinois. Krasny went to the University of Illinois Gies College of Business and graduated in 1975. His career started by working as a Toyota car salesman but he left his job in 1981 and started learning computer programming. But, Krasny was unable to find steady work so he was forced to sell his own computer. While selling his computer, he understood that computers are having great demand and this gave birth to his new and successful business idea. Under his leadership, the CDW Corporation flourished but he left the company after the deal with Madison Dearborn Partners became successful.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more