Systemax, which posted a 6% increase in 2019 revenue to nearly $900 million, has a new chief marketing officer in Klaus Werner, formerly of industrial parts distributor HD Supply.

At the same time that industrial products distributor Systemax Inc. announced decent but not spectacular year-end results, the company also added a new senior marketing manager to its executive ranks.

For the year ended Dec. 31, Systemax reported total net sales of $946.9 million, up 5.6% from total net revenue of $896.9 million in 2018. Net income from continued operations in 2019 was $50 million, essentially flat compared to net income from continued operations of $49.6 million in 2018.

For the fourth quarter, total net sales increased 2.1% to $222.2 million from $217.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Net income from continued operations in Q4 was $11.4 million vs. $12.3 million in Q4 2018.

During 2019, Systemax, an online distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products based in Port Washington, New York, made progress on its multi-year, six part plan to overhaul big parts of its operation CEO Barry Litwin told Wall Street analysts last week on the company’s year-end earnings call, according to a transcript from TheMotelyFool.com.

“A year ago we embarked on a multi-year strategic roadmap to grow customer engagement and generate operating leverage from current operations and investments,” Litwin told analysts. “We also championed a stronger customer-centric culture across our entire organization—our strategy prioritized initiatives supporting six core areas we believe we can win.”

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Systemax, which generated daily sales of $3.7 million last year vs. $3.5 million in the prior year, is focused on providing better customer service and user experience, launching more private-label products and increasing its distribution network, Litwin told analysts.

In November, Systemax rolled out an updated ecommerce site for GlobalIndustrial.com, a B2B website that sells a variety of industrial products ranging from electrical and lighting products to vehicle maintenance and last summer opened its sixth distribution center near Dallas. “We made progress in each of these areas the past year and delivered on a number of important projects including the expansion of our distribution network, which has allowed us to improve service levels and will support our growth,” he told analysts. “The launch of our new global industrial website, which delivers a significantly enhanced customer experience and self-service capabilities.”

Systemax also has a new chief marketing officer. The distributor has named Klaus Werner as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “He has guided large omnichannel organizations through change, growth, and digital transformation,” Litwin says.

Prior to joining Systemax, Werner most recently served as the chief digital officer for HD Supply. He also held previous roles including chief information officer, chief digital officer, head of Commerce and marketing for Alex Lee, Rosetta and other companies.

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