MSC Industrial Revenue Growth Hits 4% as New CEO Takes the Helm
MSC Industrial revenue growth of 4% in Q1 2026 looks healthy on the surface, but the details underneath tell a more nuanced story. The distributor, one of the largest metalworking and MRO suppliers in North America, reported results on January 7 that beat earnings expectations while simultaneously raising questions about demand fundamentals. For industrial distributors and channel partners watching the broader…
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Why Your Industry 4.0 ROI Remains Elusive
The Execution Edge:Building an Industry 4.0 Model That Actually Delivers Craig Martin, C3 Team President The promise of Industry 4.0 ROI has been dangled in…
Fastenal Q4 Earnings: Growth Surges, Margins Slip
Fastenal closed out 2025 with accelerating momentum, posting double-digit sales growth in Q4 while navigating margin headwinds tied to its large-account strategy. The Fastenal Q4 earnings…
Visual Workplace Doubles Revenue with Forward Solutions’ Multi-Channel Transformation
ALPHARETTA, Ga., Jan. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Forward Solutions today released a new case study showcasing how embracing a multi-channel sales and marketing strategy…
The AI-Enabled Distributor: From Pilot to Profit
Channel Marketing Group will release a new eBook, The AI-Enabled Distributor: From Pilot to Profit, on January 16. The guide is designed specifically for distributor leaders who are trying…
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Visual Workplace Doubles Revenue with Forward Solutions’ Multi-Channel Transformation
ALPHARETTA, Ga., Jan. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Forward Solutions today released a new case study showcasing how embracing a multi-channel sales and marketing strategy can deliver breakthrough growth for industrial manufacturers. With business buyers now expecting a seamless experience across distributor, direct, and digital channels, many mid-market manufacturers are rethinking their single-channel approach. The featured case study highlights Visual…
The AI-Enabled Distributor: From Pilot to Profit
Channel Marketing Group will release a new eBook, The AI-Enabled Distributor: From Pilot to Profit, on January 16. The guide is designed specifically for distributor leaders who are trying to make sense of artificial intelligence in a practical, business-focused way. AI is no longer confined to innovation teams or IT departments. For distributors, it is already influencing quoting speed, pricing accuracy, sales enablement, product content,…
Branch Leadership Blueprint for Distribution
If you work in wholesale distribution, you already know that strategy may be written at headquarters, but execution lives and dies at the branch. That reality sits at the heart of Foundations of a Giant: A Branch Boss’s Blueprint for Wholesale Distribution, a new book built around one core idea: strong branch leadership is still the most reliable competitive advantage in the channel. Written…
New Research: Rebates Ensure Profitability
In the industrial supply industry, we often talk about “backside dollars”, or rebates, as a necessary part of the business. But are they a strategic asset or just a “tax” on doing business? Earlier this year we (Channel Marketing Group) conducted research, sponsored by Enable, a leading rebate management reporting system. on volume rebates and are releasing a new research…
Converting POs to Digital Commerce, and a Christmas Offer
Last quarter’s Pulse of Industrial Supply identified a significant divergence in the percentage of digital sales for smaller distributors vs large distributors. Perhaps its the customer base? It could be investments in eCommerce technology and product data. It could be marketing. But it could also be that smaller distributors are not being customer friendly, technologically. When you dig into it,…
It’s year-end Inventory Planning and Adjustment Season
As we enter the final stretch of 2025, I am having daily conversations with many distributors and manufacturers about their in-stock inventory positions. Industrial and Construction Channel growth rates have slowed fand now are slightly down to at best flat in 2025. Inflation and price increases have continued to climb since early 2023. So, that slow/no market combined with rising…
2025 Q3 Pulse of Industrial Supply Report
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing quarterly reports from distributors and manufacturers in the industrial supply space. For the most part the earnings, topline and bottom line, have been good / met expectations. The drivers – industrial market performance and tariffs, especially since tariffs increase pricing, so, sales dollar volume inevitably goes up. Here’s the challenge with the…
ISA Fall Summit in Memphis Recap
Yesterday, we wrapped up a fun and productive Fall Summit in Memphis, TN. The weather was perfect, Beale Street was awesome, and staying at the Peabody Hotel with their famous ducks was like going back in time with all the history that surrounded you. I was writing this column that going “back in time” thought was top of mind. For…
