Industrial Supply Wholesalers Industry Profile

Companies in this industry distribute supplies for machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing, oil and gas, and warehousing industries. Major US companies include Applied Industrial Technologies, Fastenal, MRC Global, MSC Industrial Direct, Vallen Distribution, and WW Grainger.

Industrial supply wholesalers seek markets with a strong manufacturing base and countries experiencing high growth in manufacturing. In terms of GDP, the wealthiest regions are the US, China, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, India, among others.

The US industrial supply wholesalers industry includes about 9,000 establishments (single-location companies or branches of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $74 billion. Because industrial supply distributors sell products used in maintenance, repair, operations, and production (MROP), the industry is sometimes called the MRO supply or MROP supply industry.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The entry of online retailers, primarily Amazon Business, into the industrial supply wholesale space has disrupted the business models of traditional players and intensified competition. Online B2B retailers often offer price comparison tools that allow customers to select from several different suppliers, forcing some established industrial supply wholesalers to reduce their prices.

In response to the shifting competitive environment, traditional industrial supply wholesalers with brick-and-mortar locations have shuttered some operations and shifted resources toward online offerings. Companies are also differentiating themselves from the likes of Amazon Business by becoming more ingrained in their customers' supply chains, touting the expertise of service professionals, and offering on-site inventory ...