Mike Hockett, Author at Modern Distribution Management

Master Distributor LindFast Bolsters Leadership with Series of Appointments

The fasteners, specialty wire & cable and industrial products provider has made a series of appointments and promotions spanning corporate development, finance, sales, operations, value-added services and its Canadian business. We detail them all here.

August 11, 2026

JanSan

Essendant Warns of Possible Shutdown, to Lay Off at Least 1,100

Following previous layoffs in California at the end of last year, the Staples subsidiary is exploring asset sales and new capital to avoid liquidation, less than a year after pivoting away from office supplies toward JanSan, foodservice and technology.

August 11, 2026

HVACR

SRS Leans Further into Cross-Sell Role, Expands HVAC Platform with Lohmiller Deal

The four-location Colorado distributor adds 220 employees and becomes the second addition to SRS’ nascent HVAC platform following its acquisition of Mingledorff’s.

August 10, 2026

Operations

The KPIs Raising the Bar for Mid-Market Distributors

This this Q&A piece, Ducker Carlisle’s Amy Marzonie and Chris Fisher explain how consolidators are using inventory turns, delivery performance and cost-to-serve to assess distributor scalability — and why operational discipline alone won’t maximize growth or valuation.

August 7, 2026

Economic Trends

June U.S. Wholesale Sales Drop 3% as Petro Reverses Course; Industry Largely Flat

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August 6, 2026

Fasteners

Fastenal Daily Sales Accelerate Further in July as Growth Among Top Customers Narrows

The company posted its 13th straight month of double-digit daily sales growth as its three largest end markets all improved from June. Get our detailed breakdown and analysis of the figures.

August 6, 2026

Waterworks

DXP Makes 5th Deal of 2026, Posts 2Q Growth Acceleration

The pumping solutions and MRO distributor posted 15.6% sales growth and expanded its DXP Water platform into Western Canada.

August 5, 2026

Fasteners

Hillman Makes $315M Master Distribution Entry with Kanebridge Deal

The fasteners and hardware products distributor is acquiring Kanebridge to establish a U.S. industrial master distribution platform. Hillman separately reported 10% second-quarter sales growth and raised its 2026 outlook.

August 4, 2026

MDM Market Leaders

ADI’s NYSE Debut, Ferguson’s S&P 500 Entry Give Distribution a Week to Celebrate

ADI Global Distribution’s launch as an independent public company and Ferguson’s elevation to the S&P 500 delivered a rare double milestone for wholesale distribution — and a timely reminder of the industry’s scale, resilience and economic importance.

August 4, 2026

Tariffs

Amazon to Return Portion of Tariff Refund. Should Distributors Do the Same?

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August 4, 2026

MRO

Grainger Raises Outlook Again as 2Q Growth Accelerates and Volume Takes Lead

Grainger extended its early-2026 momentum with robust daily organic sales growth, double-digit gains across most end markets and another outlook increase. Volume became the larger driver in its core U.S. business, while tariff refunds supplied most of the quarter’s gross margin lift.

August 4, 2026

Economic Trends

ISM PMI Accelerates to 4-Year High

The economic indicator expanded faster than market expectations on the strength of a considerable month-to-month production increase alongside employment.

August 3, 2026

Electrical

Prysmian Buying Atkore in $3.8B Electrical Infrastructure Deal

Prysmian’s $95-per-share agreement for Atkore would unite a major wire and cable producer with a broad portfolio of conduit, cable management and framing products, creating a larger North American supplier positioned around electrification and data center investment.

August 3, 2026

Mergers & Acquisitions

July M&A Roundup: Ferguson-FloWorks, DSG’s Go-Private Lead Healthy Month

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July 31, 2026

Contractor

Home Depot Realigns Organization to Accelerate Pro Growth

Home Depot created an "Office of Pro Acceleration" to coordinate its expanding contractor-focused businesses, technology and fulfillment capabilities as it pursues a larger share of a $700 billion Pro market.

July 31, 2026

Legal & Regulatory Issues

NAW Sues to Block Colorado EPR Law in Latest Legal Filing

NAW’s latest EPR challenge targets Colorado’s packaging recycling law, marking the association’s third legal action against state EPR programs after its Oregon and California filings.

July 30, 2026

Technology Provider News

Proton.ai Launches Automated Order & Quote Entry System

Proton.ai’s new agentic system converts customer emails, spreadsheets, PDFs and spoken requests into draft quotes and orders while handling follow-ups and product substitutions.

July 24, 2026

NAW Releases AI Governance Framework for Wholesale Distribution

Developed with the AI Applied Consortium, NAW’s new AI Governance Architecture gives distributors a practical framework for managing AI risks, accountability, transparency and workforce impacts while keeping people at the center of implementation.

July 22, 2026

Automotive

Mavis to Acquire Pep Boys for $700M

The pending deal will add nearly 800 Pep Boys locations to Mavis Tire’s portfolio, creating an automotive service network of more than 4,400 locations amid wider consolidation across the automotive aftermarket.

July 21, 2026

Legal & Regulatory Issues

NAW Awaits Ruling After Oregon EPR Trial

NAW presented its case challenging Oregon’s packaging EPR law during a July 13-17 federal trial in Portland, and a ruling is expected by the end of August. See the association's statement on the matter.

July 21, 2026

Posts By Mike Hockett

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