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TESSCO

tess · NASDAQ Technology
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Ticker tess
Exchange NASDAQ
Sector Technology
Industry Communication Equipment
Employees 501-1000
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FY2016 Annual Report · TESSCO
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 Shareowners
ANNUAL
REPORT
2016

Making the Trusted Difference In Our Customers’ Success

Our increasingly connected world makes wireless a necessity, the vital link among us all. TESSCO’s 

depth of wireless product offering, passionate customer teams and reliable programs and services 

make us the industry’s most trusted partner for building, using, maintaining, and providing wireless 

voice, data, and video. TESSCO is dedicated to being the singular source for wireless solutions and 

connectivity for our customers. We call this the Power of ONE, and at TESSCO our team members 

work hard every day to make the trusted difference in our customers’ success.

Coverage
& Capacity

Wi-Fi

Backhaul

Base Station

In-Vehicle
& Mobile
Communications

Installation, Test
& Maintenance

Monitoring
& Control

Internet
of Things

Mobile
Device
Performance

Dear Fellow Shareowner,  

Fiscal Year 2016 was a year for creating new opportunities, and responding to the challenges to achieve renewed 
profitable growth. Throughout the year, TESSCO developed new opportunities created by the convergence of wireless 
and the Internet, and new technologies. At the same time, we did not produce the level of financial performance we 
expected as a result of the challenge in replacing the drastic purchase decline in the carrier market because of delays in 
their network expansion and upgrades.

Our vison is to evolve from a wireless public carrier, transaction centric supplier, to a consultative provider that enables 
network and connectivity system deployment, for private as well as public organizations. Our goal is to be Your Total Source® 
for the end-to-end wireless solutions for building, using, maintaining and reselling for these systems–Base Station, 
In-Vehicle & Mobile Communications, Mobile Device Performance, Wi-Fi, Coverage & Capacity, Monitoring & Control, 
Backhaul, Installation, Test & Maintenance, and Internet of Things.

In the New Year, we are working to accelerate this evolution by responding to two major disruptive realities–dramatic 
technology and network changes, and rapidly changing customer behaviors and expectations.  Our transformations are 
in these five critical areas: 

•  Our Offer–Expand the end-to-end product and supply chain solution offerings to support wireless systems. This 
includes providing knowledge, design, innovative products and services, training and supply chain management. 

•  Consultative Selling–Develop consultative, relationship-based selling to deepen our relationships and expand our share 
  of the customers’ requirements. 

•  Digital Marketing & Analytics–Build our digital and Internet marketing, e-commerce and intelligence platform, to make 
  TESSCO.com the definitive source for knowledge, procurement and supply chain control, and using predictive analytics 
to gain insight and understanding of buyer behaviors that will drive decisions and create one-to-one communications, 

  opportunities, sales and customer satisfaction.  

•  Customer Experience–Digitize the customer’s experience by simplifying and standardizing our offer, policies 
  and procedures at every touchpoint - from deciding on a need, to placing an order, to making a payment, to problem 

resolution, giving our customers complete control over their entire procurement and supply chain.

•  Talent Development–Enhance talent and leadership through recruitment, development and succession. A companywide 
  succession plan is underway including a new CEO search. As the 72-year-old Founder, Chairman and CEO, I will become 
the Executive Chairman when a new CEO is hired, and will work with the new CEO to take TESSCO to a new level of 
  success in the exploding world of wireless. We expect a new CEO to be hired this fiscal year. In the meantime, I remain 

the CEO, firmly dedicated to driving performance and increasing shareowner value.

We are well underway on our transformation journey; however, we must make the changes at a faster rate. While driving 
the transformations, we are also focusing on market share growth, expansion in the non-carrier markets, new customer 
development, offer expansion, margin improvement and expense management and making the trusted difference in our 
customers’, manufacturers’ and shareowners’ success.

In summary, TESSCO is well positioned to capitalize on an industry that is revolutionizing the way we live, work and play. 
All of us at TESSCO are energized and accountable to achieve the level of the success and growth of shareowner value we 
all expect. I thank you, our shareowners, and our customers, manufacturers, and team members for the continued support 
of TESSCO.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Barnhill, Jr.
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                 
Leadership

Directors

Robert B. Barnhill, Jr. 
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of TESSCO Technologies Incorporated

Jay G. Baitler
Former Executive Vice President of Staples, Inc.,
Contract Division

John D. Beletic
President and CEO of X-IO Technologies, Inc.,  
an electronic storage company

Benn R. Konsynski, Ph.D.
George S. Craft Professor of Business Administration
for Information Systems and Operations Management  
at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University

Dennis J. Shaughnessy
Retired Chairman of the Board of FTI Consulting Inc.

Morton F. Zifferer, Jr.
Chairman and CEO of New Standard Corporation,
a metal products manufacturer

Jerome C. Eppler
1924-2015
Director Emeritus

Jerry Eppler, a Director and friend, was 
responsible for obtaining the capital in 1982 
to help launch TESSCO in the very early days 
of the wireless industry. Jerry served as a 
Director from 1985-2007, providing  guidance throughout his 
term and after becoming Director Emeritus until his passing 
in December 2015. We are grateful for, and will always 
remember his significant contribution.

Officers

Robert B. Barnhill, Jr.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Craig A. Oldham
    Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing

Douglas A. Rein
Senior Vice President of Performance Systems and Operations

Aric M. Spitulnik
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Steven K. Tom
Senior Vice President of Analytics, Innovation and Learning

P. Douglas Dollenberg, Jr.
    Vice President

Elizabeth S. Robinson
    Vice President

Thomas F. Foster
    Vice President

James R. Gaarder
    Vice President

Jeffrey A. Kaufman
    Vice President

Cynthia L. King 
    Vice President

Steven E. Lehukey
    Vice President

Jeffrey K. Lime
    Vice President

William A. Moten
    Vice President

Marika Patto
    Vice President

Nicholas J. Salatino
    Vice President

Jeffrey L. Shockey
    Vice President

Mary Beth Smith
    Vice President

Charles Stone
    Vice President

David Strauss
    Vice President

Damon M. Weatherill
    Vice President

Edward S. Winslow
    Vice President

Shareowner Information

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of Shareowners of TESSCO Technologies Incorporated is scheduled 
to be held at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at: 

TESSCO Technologies Incorporated 
375 West Padonia Road 
Timonium, MD 21093

Investor Relations

Analysts, investors and shareowners seeking additional information about TESSCO Technologies  
Incorporated are invited to contact:

Sharon Merrill

77 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110

Telephone: 617.542.5300
Facsimile:  617.423.7272
Internet:  www.investors.com

Aric M. Spitulnik

375 West Padonia Road
Timonium, MD 21093 

Telephone:  410.229.1419
Facsimile:  410.229.1669
Email: 

spitulnik@tessco.com

A copy of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the United States Securities and 
Exchange Commission is available without charge on the SEC website, www.sec.gov, or upon request 
to the address above.

TESSCO on NASDAQ
TESSCO’s common stock trades on the 
NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol TESS.

Transfer Agent & Registrar
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
P.O. Box 64874
Saint Paul, MN 55164

Corporate Counsel
Ballard Spahr LLP
Baltimore, MD

Independent Public  
Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP
Baltimore, MD

Corporate Governance
The highest ethical standards have always been integral to TESSCO’s culture and business success. Guided by the “TESSCO Way,”each 

director, officer and team member is expected to observe the highest standards of ethical behavior in the performance of his or her

duties for the Company. The Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics can be found in the Investors section of our website, www.tessco.com. 

From a corporate governance perspective, our six member Board of Directors includes five independent directors. The four standing

committees of the Board of Directors are comprised of independent directors with the exception of Mr. Barnhill, who is a member of the

Risk  and  Strategy  Committee.  In  addition,  each  of  the  four  committees  is  chaired  by  an  independent  director.  TESSCO  is  an  Affirmative 

Action-Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.

Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report contains a number of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 

1995, all of which are based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words 

“may,” “will,” “believes,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “our relative bargaining power and inability to negotiate favorable terms 

with our vendors and customers”; “claims against us for breach of intellectual property rights of third parties” and “product liability claims” and 

similar expressions. Our future results of operations and other forward-looking statements contained in this report involve a number of risks 

and uncertainties. For a variety of reasons, actual results may differ materially from those described in any such forward-looking statement. 

Consequently, the reader is cautioned to consider all forward-looking statements in light of the risks to which they are subject.

We  are  not  able  to  identify  or  control  all  circumstances  that  could  occur  in  the  future  that  may  adversely  affect  our  business 

and operating results. In addition to risk elsewhere discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 27, 

2016, included among the risks that could lead to a materially adverse impact on our business or operating results are the termination 

or non-renewal of limited duration agreements or arrangements with our vendors and affinity partners which are typically terminable 

by either party upon several months or otherwise relatively short notice; loss of significant customers or relationships, including affinity 

relationships; loss of customers either directly or indirectly as a result of consolidation among large wireless service carriers and others 

within the wireless communications industry; the strength of our customers’, vendors’ and affinity partners’ businesses; increasingly 

negative or prolonged adverse economic conditions, including those adversely affecting consumer confidence or consumer or business 

spending,  or  otherwise  adversely  affecting  our  vendors  or  customers,  including  their  access  to  capital  or  liquidity  or  our  customers’ 

demand for or our ability to fund or pay for the purchase of our products and services; our dependence on a relatively small number of 

suppliers and vendors, which could hamper our ability to maintain appropriate inventory levels and meet customer demand; failure of 

our information technology system or distribution system; technology changes in the wireless communications industry, which could 

lead  to  significant  inventory  obsolescence  and/or  our  inability  to  offer  key  products  that  our  customers  demand;  third-party  freight 

carrier  interruption;  increased  competition  from  competitors,  including  manufacturers  or  national  and  regional  distributors  of  the 

products we sell and the absence of significant barriers to entry which could result in pricing and other pressures on profitability and 

market share; our relative bargaining power and inability to negotiate favorable terms with our vendors and customers; our inability to 

access capital and obtain or retain financing as and when needed; transitional and other risks associated with acquisitions of companies 

that we may undertake in an effort to expand our business; the possibility that, for unforeseen reasons, we may be delayed in entering 

into or performing, or may fail to enter into or perform, anticipated contracts or may otherwise be delayed in realizing or fail to realize 

anticipated revenues or anticipated savings; our inability to protect certain intellectual property, including systems and technologies on 

which we rely; claims against us for breach of the intellectual property rights of third parties; product liability claims; and our inability 

to hire or retain for any reason our key professionals, management and staff.