Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

Segment Information

Segment information is presented in accordance with a “management approach,” which designates the internal reporting used by the chief operating decision-maker for making decisions and assessing performance as the source of the Company's reportable segments. The Company's segments are organized in a manner consistent with which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision-maker in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance.

The Company has two reportable segments: Corporate, which is comprised primarily of business customers, and Public, which is comprised of government entities and education and healthcare institutions. The Company also has two other operating segments, CDW Advanced Services and Canada, which do not meet the reportable segment quantitative thresholds and, accordingly, are combined together as “Other.”

The Company has centralized logistics and headquarters functions that provide services to the segments. The logistics function includes purchasing, distribution and fulfillment services to support both the Corporate and Public segments. As a result, costs and intercompany charges associated with the logistics function are fully allocated to both of these segments based on a percent of sales. The centralized headquarters function provides services in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and coworker services. Headquarters' function costs that are not allocated to the segments are included under the heading of “Headquarters” in the tables below. Depreciation expense is included in Headquarters as it is not allocated among segments or used in measuring segment performance.

The Company allocates resources to and evaluates performance of its segments based on net sales, income (loss) from operations and Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure as defined in the Company's credit agreements. However, the Company has concluded that income (loss) from operations is the more useful measure in terms of discussion of operating results, as it is a GAAP measure.

Segment information for total assets and capital expenditures is not presented, as such information is not used in measuring segment performance or allocating resources between segments.

Selected Segment Financial Information

The following table presents information about the Company’s segments for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010:

(in millions)	Corporate			Public			Other			Headquarters			Total
2012:
Net sales	$	5,512.8		$	4,023.0		$	592.4		$	—		$	10,128.2
Income (loss) from operations	349.0			246.7			18.6			(103.7		)	510.6
Depreciation and amortization expense	(97.6		)	(44.0		)	(9.3		)	(59.3		)	(210.2		)
2011:
Net sales	$	5,334.4		$	3,757.2		$	510.8		$	—		$	9,602.4
Income (loss) from operations	331.6			233.3			17.5			(111.7		)	470.7
Depreciation and amortization expense	(97.4		)	(43.9		)	(8.7		)	(54.9		)	(204.9		)
2010:
Net sales	$	4,833.6		$	3,560.6		$	407.0		$	—		$	8,801.2
Income (loss) from operations	256.2			193.0			14.3			(110.8		)	352.7
Depreciation and amortization expense	(97.4		)	(44.2		)	(8.9		)	(58.9		)	(209.4		)

Major Customers, Geographic Areas, and Product Mix

Net sales to the federal government were $964.7 million, $953.6 million and $967.8 million and accounted for approximately 10%, 10% and 11% of total net sales in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Net sales to customers outside of the U.S., primarily in Canada, were approximately 4% , 4%, and 3%, of the Company's total net sales in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, approximately 2% and 2% of the Company’s long-lived assets were located outside of the U.S., respectively.

The following table presents net sales by major category for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010. Categories are based upon internal classifications. Amounts for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 have been reclassified for certain changes in individual product classifications to conform to the presentation for the year ended December 31, 2012.

	Year Ended December 31, 2012				Year Ended December 31, 2011				Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Dollars in Millions		Percentage of Total Net Sales		Dollars in Millions		Percentage of Total Net Sales		Dollars in Millions		Percentage of Total Net Sales
Notebooks/Mobile Devices	$	1,470.8	14.5	%	$	1,333.8	13.9	%	$	1,142.6	13.0	%
NetComm Products	1,350.6		13.3		1,241.4		12.9		1,142.0		13.0
Enterprise and Data Storage (Including Drives)	975.1		9.6		916.9		9.5		844.1		9.6
Other Hardware	4,111.1		40.6		4,039.2		42.1		3,783.5		43.0
Software	1,886.6		18.6		1,781.6		18.6		1,621.8		18.4
Services	285.2		2.8		254.6		2.7		214.9		2.4
Other (1)	48.8		0.6		34.9		0.3		52.3		0.6
Total net sales	$	10,128.2	100.0	%	$	9,602.4	100.0	%	$	8,801.2	100.0	%

(1) Includes items such as delivery charges to customers and certain commission revenue.