Company Information Overview
Ingram Micro Mobility has regional operations in more than 35 countries and customers in over 75 countries. We have long term relationships with leaders in all segments of the wireless industry as we provide customized services through over 100,000 points of sale and to over 25,000 B2B customers worldwide. Our customers and manufacturing partners include HTC, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, T-Mobile, Sprint, Telefonica, Vodafone, Verizon and Telenor, among others.
History
Our story began in 1989.
1989 Wholesale Cellular U.S.A., Inc. is founded by Robert J. Laikin in Indianapolis, Indiana. The initial vision is to create a distribution company that can source brand name cellular phones and accessories and resell them to dealer/agents in Indiana and the surrounding states. The startup begins with an executive management team with an average age of under 30, 10 employees and $35,000. Wholesale Cellular U.S.A., Inc. is soon doing business all over the United States.
1993 There are approximately 30 employees working out of less than 10,000 square feet. It is not uncommon to find salespeople picking, packing and shipping their own orders at the end of the day to meet the shipping cut-off. Laikin recognizes that he needs to broaden the market and move it beyond the borders of the United States. The initial focus is in South America and Asia.
1994 With Sands Brothers as its investment banker, Wholesale Cellular U.S.A., Inc. goes public in April. The Company's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol CELL. After going public, the Company continues its rapid growth. It is recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States.
1995 As markets broaden and the wireless industry begins to embrace more than cellular, it becomes obvious that the old name of Wholesale Cellular U.S.A. is limiting. The Company changes its name to Brightpoint, Inc. and begins the process of moving its headquarters operations to a new 85,000 square foot facility in Indianapolis.
1996 Fueling the strong growth of BrightPoint is a series of start-ups, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions all around the world. Total gross revenues top $1 billion (U.S.). BrightPoint moves aggressively into integrated services, developing and launching several innovative outsource service products for network operators and equipment manufacturers.
1997 BrightPoint officially opens the Reno, Nevada location in order to better serve the western region of the United States. The very first order is shipped out of the West Coast Distribution Center on March 17. There are 8 employees at the time of its opening. The 180,000-square-foot facility offers the full suite of distribution and fulfillment services.
1998 BrightPoint announces numerous acquisitions and ventures that aid in continuing the growth of the Company around the globe. These additional business opportunities include locations such as United Kingdom, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil and Taiwan. The Company now has facilities in twenty countries, and handles a record 10 million handsets, which is an increase of 100% over 1997.
1999 Continuing in its pursuit of global growth, BrightPoint announces the acquisition of Acquired Cellular Services S.A., a provider of integrated logistic services in the wireless communications industry in Brazil. The Company establishes new joint operations and relationships in China. BrightPoint also becomes a member of the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) Forum, an industry organization that is paving the way to broaden the utility and acceptance of wireless data solutions.
2000 BrightPoint opens the North America Headquarters. The 495,000-square-foot facility, located in Plainfield, Indiana, is specifically designed to house the operations and staff. All of BrightPoint's product distribution, third-party logistics, custom accessory services and call center operations are offered from this location. BrightPoint enters or expands operations in four markets: Colombia, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands and Jordan. BrightPoint is awarded a U.S. Patent for its "Wireless Communication Product Fulfillment System." The patent is a major step in recognizing BrightPoint's creativity and protecting its intellectual property.
2003 This is a milestone year in many ways for BrightPoint. Annual total revenue from recurring operations grows to $1.8 billion (U.S.). BrightPoint handles a record 20.3 million wireless devices, up 34% from 2002. The Company expands global operations by opening offices in the exciting high-growth India market. The Asia-Pacific division, whose wireless devices handled grew by 118%, is a primary source of revenue growth.
2005 BrightPoint launches AWS (Advanced Wireless Services), an organization developed to deliver bundled wireless products and services to existing sales channels including mobile operators and their dealers, as well as to new channels such as value-added resellers and system integrators.
2006 In October, Wireless Fulfillment Services LLC, a subsidiary of the Americas division, completes its acquisition of Trio Industries, Inc. ("TrioTek"). This acquisition is part of BrightPoint's continued investment in AWS.
2007 BrightPoint completes its acquisition of Dangaard Telecom, the leading distributor of wireless devices and accessories in Europe. In addition, BrightPoint finalizes the acquisition of certain assets related to the U.S. and Miami-based Latin America business of CellStar Corporation. BrightPoint is one of America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine.
2009 BrightPoint continues to focus on optimizing its European division's operating and financial structure which will result in additional opportunities. A strategic component of this plan revolves around consolidating current warehouse facilities and creating strategically located hubs or "Centers of Excellence" (supply chain delivery systems) to streamline operations with the goal of becoming a low cost service provider of industry leading logistic services. BrightPoint was listed as a Fortune 500 company and one of America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine.
2010 BrightPoint handles approximately 98.8 million wireless devices (a 19% increase over 2009), driven by expanded relationships with wireless device manufacturers in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions, as well as increased demand for pre-paid and fixed fee wireless subscriptions in the Americas region. During this same year, BrightPoint acquires Touchstone Wireless. Touchstone is a leading provider of repair, remanufacture and reverse logistics services to the wireless industry. The acquisition of Touchstone expands the breadth of repair and reverse logistic services available through BrightPoint's existing North America operations. BrightPoint is one of America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine.
2011 BrightPoint enters into an agreement to make a strategic investment in Intcomex, Inc., a leading IT distributor focused solely on Latin America and the Caribbean. BrightPoint significantly expands its participation in Latin America by leveraging Intcomex's more than 20-years of experience in the region and utilizing Intcomex's reliable and efficient in-country network. This investment positions BrightPoint to become a significant player in both the wireless and information technology (IT) markets in Latin America. BrightPoint expects to handle more than 110 million wireless devices globally. BrightPoint is one of America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine.
2012 BrightPoint debuts its new global brand, fueled by the Company's unique character attributes: Driven, Reliable and Creative. These attributes set the Company apart from competitors and fully define BrightPoint's world-class portfolio of products and services.
BrightPoint is acquired by Ingram Micro, a Fortune 100 company, enabling the world's largest technology distributor and leading logistics provider for the IT industry worldwide to become a global leader in device lifecycle services for the wireless industry.
Today, Ingram Micro Mobility serves its customers from sales and operations centers located in more than 35 countries. Our associates are focused on executing our strategy with passion and dedicated to serving our customers and suppliers around the globe.
With mobile headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, and regional operations in more than 35 countries, Ingram Micro Mobility,shipments exceeded 112 million units in 2011. With customers in over 75 countries, we have long term relationships with leaders in all segments of the wireless industry as we provide customized services through over 100,000 points of sale and to over 25,000 B2B customers worldwide. Our customers and manufacturing partners include HTC, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, T-Mobile, Sprint, Telefonica, Vodafone, Verizon and Telenor, among others.