Industrial Equipment & Supply

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Solutions for Industrial Equipment & Supply

E&A has experience delivering information technology solutions for distributors in the industrial equipment and supply industry. Combining industry expertise with advanced ERP solutions from Infor, E&A will help your company increase efficiency, productivity and profitability.

Industrial equipment and supply companies sell to manufacturers, utilities, transportation and service companies, as well as institutions such as governments, schools, and hospitals. Industrial equipment and supply distributors sell a large number of products that their customers use in the actual production of an item, or in the maintenance-repair operations for their plant or facility. The maintenance repair operations (MRO) industry supplies parts that are often referred to as "indirect materials" as they are not used in the actual production of a product. Major products include abrasives, strapping, tapes, and inks (30 percent of sales); mechanical power transmission supplies (17 percent); industrial containers and supplies (17 percent); industrial valves and fittings (13 percent); and bushings and bearings (10 percent). Other products include tools, motors, fasteners, and cleaning supplies. Large distributors may carry 500,000 different items (stock keeping units - SKUs). Products are grouped into product lines.

The wholesale industrial equipment and supply industry in the U.S. includes about 8,000 establishments (single-location companies or branches of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $50 billion. Major companies include WW Grainger, Applied Industrial Technologies, MSC Industrial Direct, McJunkin Red Man, and Industrial Distribution Group. The industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 50 percent of revenue.

Demand is closely tied to the level of US manufacturing production. Because many operating costs are fixed, profitability depends on operational efficiency, particularly inventory management. Smaller companies can compete effectively by providing specialized supplies or superior service (delivery service and product expertise). Large distributors with a network of warehouses and outlets can maintain a lower inventory/sales ratio.

Industrial equipment and supply distributors are often expected to bring extra value to the customer, including just-in-time delivery, 24-hour product availability, managing inventory at the customer’s facility and reporting where MRO dollars are spent, e.g. dollars per machine, department or budget category. Some industrial distributors will offer services to help their customer meet calibration and certification requirements to reduce down time, as well as perform diagnostics and maintenance checks to keep their machines and tools running smoothly and productivity high.

Associations

  • American Machine Tool Distributors Association
  • American Supply Association
  • Association of Independent Compressor Distributors
  • Industrial Supply Association
  • Fluid Power Distributors Association
  • National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors
  • National Fluid Power Association

Buying Groups

  • Affiliated Distributors
  • SupplyFORCE

Solutions

E&A understands the unique challenges of this industry. E&A can configure and implement an Infor10 Distribution solution to help you gain greater control over your most critical processes, including:

  • Buyers decision support
  • Complex pricing
  • Customer order fulfillment schedules
  • Distributor managed inventory or consigned inventory
  • EDI
  • e-Commerce
  • Manging the quoting process
  • Non stock items
  • Order status questions
  • Product traceability
  • Service & Repair
  • Sourcing
  • Telephone sales
  • 3PL (third party logistics)
  • VMI (vendor managed inventory)
  • Vendor rebates

Case Studies

See how E&A and Infor have delivered solutions to the industrial equipment and supply industry.

 

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