CEO: Adding part-time support staff frees up sales force for more aggressive sales efforts.
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In 2013, MDM spoke with scores of distributors, manufacturers and industry experts to research trends and events affecting the wholesale distribution industry. Many had a real talent for expressing the most important and complex issues of the day in just a few words.
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The renewed focus on vending is part of Applied's rebranded VMI program.
CEO: Company underinvested in supporting vending in 2013.
Fastenal CEO Will Oberton says data enables productive conversations that can save accounts.
Fastenal is largely credited with driving the latest boom in industrial vending services among distributors. Fastenal had nearly 30,000 vending machines installed as of the end of the second quarter 2013, and while it recently backed off on its goal of 30,000 new vending machines this year, it continues to expand its program, called FAST Solutions, at a quick clip. Fastenal’s vending program has grown much faster than the competition’s.
This article is part of MDM’s series on the industrial vending market.
Staff Writer Angela Poulson spoke with Fastenal CEO Will Oberton about:
- The impetus for Fastenal’s vending program
- Why Fastenal backed off its aggressive goal for 2013
- What's next for Fastenal's vending program
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- Industrial Vending: A Runway for Growth
- Distributors Get Smarter About Vending
- The Counterfeit Challenge
Purchase the full MDM Special Report, The Industrial Vending Boom, in the MDM Store in PDF format.
Top articles covered topics like vending, AmazonSupply and growth in jan-san.
Free vending machines are becoming the norm, but make sure the contract terms are clear.
Distributors are helping to drive increased adoption of industrial vending in recent years. The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, is largely credited with sparking the growth, but many of the largest distributors – and several smaller ones – have introduced their own vending solutions for customers. This article looks at the current state of industrial vending, drivers of growth and where industry experts and distributors expect vending to go. This article includes an estimated size of the vending market by number of machines.
This article is the first in MDM’s series on the industrial vending market.
This article includes:
- A snapshot of the current vending market
- Analysis of Fastenal's impact on the market
- A look at the competitive landscape
- The technology & the future of industrial vending
Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- Distributors Get Smarter About Vending
- The Counterfeit Challenge
- Private Label Carries Legal Risks
Purchase the full MDM Special Report, The Industrial Vending Boom, in the MDM Store in PDF format.
CEO: Fastenals 30,000-machine goal for 2013 was overzealous.
This article is part of MDM's 2013 Distribution Trends Report. This article looks at how distributors are getting smarter about how and when they sell and use vending machines.
The annual report was researched and written by MDM editors based on interviews with dozens of wholesaler-distributors, as well as industry experts and manufacturers. MDM also conducted a survey of its readers to uncover the trends outlined in this report.
The full report is available to download in PDF format to MDM Premium subscribers. Subscribe below for full access. Or log-in if you are already a subscriber.
Trends outlined in the 2013 report include:
- Generational Shift Drives Changes in Technology, Customer Expectations
- Hiring in Distribution Complicated by Lack of Visibility, Shifting Needs
- The Rise of Little Data in Distribution
- Distributors Get Smarter About Vending
- Distributors Get Aggressive with Inventory Management
- Vendor, Distributor Consolidation Continues
- Wallet Share, Customer Demands Drive Channel Convergence
- Other Trends
- Trend Snapshots for 14 Sectors
The report also includes the following case studies and interviews:
- 2013 MDM Market Movers
- Replenex Builds Culture of Cost Savings
- A&M Industrial Finds Niche in Essential Services
- Strategic Planning Pays Off for Machinery Tooling & Supply
- MDM Market Leader Profiles
- Interline Brands' Focus on Jan-San
- Arrow Electronics Plots a Global Course
Distributor outlines how it has improved gross margin performance over the past couple of quarters.
The distributor installed 4,352 new industrial vending machines during the quarter.
Fastenal is planning for 30,000 new vending machines in 2013.
Fastenal opened 80 new stores and installed 13,642 new industrial vending machines in 2012.
Most popular blogs focused on e-commerce, mobile, vending and channel relationships.
Vending is now making a significant contribution to many national distributors’ top lines. The trend is most prominent in the industrial MRO sector.
This article is part of the 2012 Distribution Trends Report. To access this annual update for premium subscribers, subscribe now or log-in.
Both MSC Industrial Supply and Fastenal tout the potential of vending as a growth engine.
Fastenal CEO Will Oberton addresses distributor's top initiatives in annual report.
Fastenal outlined growth goals in recent presentation.
