We have all heard of Dun & Bradstreet yet few of us have more than a
vague idea of what it is they do.
Some history
In 1841 a very interesting man, Lewis Tuppan, created a commercial credit
service. He was also a fervent abolitionist who was prominent in the Amistad
case. Along the way he wrote a book titled Is It Right to be Rich? In
1857 his grandson incorporated using his own name R.G. Dun. He had some rather
illustrious employees-- Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, and McKinley. By 1900, R.G.
Dun covered over one million U.S.
businesses.
Meanwhile, the arch rival to R.G. Dun, John M. Bradstreet started his
company in 1848 and two years later published a book of commercial credit
ratings.
In 1933 both companies were feeling the effects of the depression and, after
much difficult negotiations, merged to become Dun & Bradstreet.
What does Dun & Bradstreet do?
In short, they provide businesses with information on other businesses. They
specialize in business information, services, and research. The company uses a
tool called D-U-N-S (Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System) which
provides information on over 2.7 million U.S.
companies. Their data base has statistics on 92 million businesses in 200
countries, making them the purveyors of the largest volume of business credit
information in the world. Their main customers are manufacturers, wholesalers,
insurance companies, banks, and other credit and financial institutions.
In the eighties and nineties Dun & Bradstreet made a number of
acquisitions, among them Moody's, AC Neilson, and Funk and Wagnall. Later they
spun off Moody's and AC Nielson.
Headquartered in Short Hills, New
Jersey, the company has major divisions in:
risk management solutions
sales and marketing solutions
supply management solutions
e-business solutions
The next time someone asks, "What's their Dun & Bradstreet?",
you will know what they are talking about.