Data Centers and the Industrial Supply Channel
Data centers are set to drive $650-$900 billion in 2026 CAPEX, making them one of the strongest growth engines in nonresidential construction and distribution. The opportunity spans the full ecosystem—from upstream IT components to midstream REIT and hyperscale infrastructure to downstream construction support—creating multiple ways for distributors to win. The biggest advantage is service execution: distributors that can source,…
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The 2-for-1 Trap: Converting Dead-Stock into Liquidity
In the industrial supply industry, where organic growth is there but slugg(ish), distributors are increasingly aggressive about “buying support”. This is especially true in unseating…
Byrnes Retires from Impactful Career at NetPlus, Leadership Promotions
NetPlus Alliance, the industry buying group with over 400 distributor members, shared a recent press release announcing the retirement of Paul Byrnes and some recent…
Grainger Outperforms Industry Due to eCommerce
Grainger reported 1Q 2026 results on May 7, with sales of $4.7 billion, up 10.1%, or 12.2% on a daily, organic constant currency basis. They…
AI in Distribution: A Reality Check Before You Commit the Budget
The conversation around AI in distribution has moved past the pilot stage. Budgets are being committed, vendors are promising transformation, and the stakes on getting it…
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Grainger Outperforms Industry Due to eCommerce
Grainger reported 1Q 2026 results on May 7, with sales of $4.7 billion, up 10.1%, or 12.2% on a daily, organic constant currency basis. They achieved an operating margin of 16.7%, up 110 basis points, reversing last quarter’s decline. Volume growth and higher customer demand drove Endless Assortment sales up 19.6%, and High Touch sales were up 10.5%. Grainger passed…
AI in Distribution: A Reality Check Before You Commit the Budget
The conversation around AI in distribution has moved past the pilot stage. Budgets are being committed, vendors are promising transformation, and the stakes on getting it right are higher than ever. Justin Johnson, founder and CEO of Motivate, offers a practical reality check for distributors weighing where AI actually moves the needle and where it just creates motion without results. His observations…
CRM Isn’t the Problem — How Reps Drive Adoption
In conversations across the rep community, one theme continues to surface: CRM is no longer optional. CRM Is No Longer Optional Rep agencies today have access to capable platforms such as RepFabric, Zoho, Hubspot, LeadSmart, and Salesforce among others. The functionality is there. What continues to lag is consistent adoption. You hear it directly from agency owners. They question how…
Stanley Black Decker Industrial Channel: Q1 2026 Read
Stanley Black Decker Q1 2026 results landed this week. For the Stanley Black Decker industrial channel, the more useful read is what sits underneath the headline numbers. Total revenue was up 3% to $3.8 billion, organic revenue was flat, adjusted gross margin held at 30.2%, and adjusted EPS landed at $0.80. Those are the financials. The channel signals are where the article gets interesting. Pro…
2026 Q1 Pulse of Industrial Supply – Up 8-9%
Last month we released our Q1 Pulse of Industrial Supply survey results to respondents. This industry-wide researched, sponsored by William Blair, is conducted by Channel Marketing Group. Respondents are industrial supply distributors, manufacturers, and manufacturer representatives focused in the industrial supply channel. By soliciting input from each segment of the channel, we’re able to triangulate results, providing deeper, and corroborated,…
10 Steps to Replacing Hope with a Real Sales Plan
Last month Mark Roberts shared how hope is not a sales strategy. As we enter May, and you are 33% of the way through the year, where are you relative to goals? Are you “just managing”? Slightly ahead? What does your pipeline look like to ensure you are going to exceed your goals? And remember, there are sales goals, strategic…
4 Reasons Why Industrial Supply Manufacturers Need Amazon Business
Industrial buyers have been in the midst of change, much of it precipitated since Covid. Generational change in the workplace; utilizing digital tools to buy and manage projects; channel fragmentation. Manufacturers, seemingly always seeking to “meet the quarter” have adapted with website upgrades, product content attribution development, personnel changes, online training programs for the channel and yes, seeking additional channel…
Shedding Light on an Industrial Supply Distributor Problem (or Opportunity)
I come from Ireland, a country better known for its golf, Gaelic, and Guinness than for its distributors. So when Matt Rojas, my dormmate at Stanford, started telling me about his father’s work in distribution, I was fascinated. It was an industry I had never thought about, yet the more I learned, the more it became clear: the U.S. economy…
