The Winona, Minnesota based wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, announced 3Q25 earnings on October 13. Revenue grew 11.7% from prior year to $2.13 billion and gross margin grew 40 basis points to 45.3%. Revenue growth was driven by increases in customers and unit sales, especially in customers spending >$10k per month, and market share … [Read more...] about Fastenal – Strong Revenue Growth and 3 Consecutive Months of Double-Digit Organic Sales
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Part 3 – All good things in distribution start when a pick ticket prints in the warehouse
I have written two recent columns reminding Industrial Channel leaders to not forget about the business fundamentals of the channel, which hit a nerve with many readers. These columns focused on that even with all the changes over the past two decades - instant access to data, end customers who want self-service digital tools and full-service support, and many other changes- AI … [Read more...] about Part 3 – All good things in distribution start when a pick ticket prints in the warehouse
2026 Industrial Planning Season – Finance team leadership is crucial to great outcomes
Yesterday, I was writing a planning season column for a series that I am writing. I was multi-tasking and listening to an ISA webinar hosted by Brendan Breen and Mark Gilham from Enable titled Finance for Future Leaders. As I was writing and listening, I realized in my outline notes that I had not accounted enough on the role of Finance in Annual Planning Meetings. Your … [Read more...] about 2026 Industrial Planning Season – Finance team leadership is crucial to great outcomes
What can Industrial Leaders do to enhance their skill sets?
Last week I was traveling and speaking to key industrial channel leaders and one topic keeps coming up again and again from Manufacturers, Manufacturer Reps, and Distributors in the Channel. How do we retain future leaders in the industrial channel? It is hard to recruit and then retain talent in the industrial channel. So, when you make that investment as a Company or … [Read more...] about What can Industrial Leaders do to enhance their skill sets?
Finance Training is often overlooked by Industrial Channel leaders
This week, I had a webinar announcement caught my eye from ISA and Mark Gilham. It reminded me of how valuable basic finance training was when I first got started in my career at Crescent Electric Supply Company. All the sales and marketing type newbies had to attend a new manager training finance session that was in-depth, that was led by our CEO - Jim Etheredge (he was … [Read more...] about Finance Training is often overlooked by Industrial Channel leaders
