MRO Distribution and the Need for Improved Plant Maintenance

The opportunity for industrial distributors to add greater and greater tangible economic value to struggling manufacturers is greater now than it ever has been. That's good news for product manufacturers looking for differentiation opportunities, and points to their distributors as a growth engine that has been under-leveraged for too long.

But to do so, the manufacturers and their distribution partners must get beyond the already commoditized basics: speed, reliability, quality and availability. If that's the only focus a manufacturer-distributor team brings to a potential customer the sales process will quickly and deservedly sink to a price conversation.

So the opportunity is to provide tangible value elements that create real economic improvement opportunities for plant managers. That will inevitable mean system solutions, integrated offerings, Tier I responsiblity, distributor consortiums, and outsourcing whole chunks of a plant's headaches. For a much more detailed discussion of how outsourcing plant maintenance could be better leveraged, read this excellent article by author Steven Welsh here.

Wesco Distribution has always been a shining example of an industrial distributor leading with value-added customer strategies. The company is a leading distributor of electrical construction products and electrical and industrial maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies, and is the nation's largest provider of integrated supply services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company maintains relationships with over 24,000 suppliers, and serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Learn more about Wesco's customer programs here.