Why This Matters to Distributors: Contractors rank product availability and reliable delivery above price when selecting distributors. The findings give distributors a basis for reviewing inventory, order accuracy, and delivery performance, while underscoring the continued importance of knowledgeable salespeople and customer relationships.
Timely, accurate delivery has overtaken pricing as the second-most-important factor contractors consider when choosing a distributor, according to research conducted by Farmington Consulting Group for the American Supply Association. Product availability and inventory levels remained the top consideration.
The association’s 2026 Voice of Contractor Survey gathered responses from 725 plumbing and mechanical contractors through an online survey in May and June. Findings were presented Tuesday, Nov. 10, at ASA’s Network 2026 conference in Las Vegas, where Farmington President TJ O’Connor led a session comparing the results with the association’s 2023 research.
Delivery service climbed from fifth in 2023 to second in 2026, while pricing slipped from second to third. The change places greater emphasis on distributors’ ability to fulfill orders accurately and on time, alongside maintaining the inventory contractors need.
Inside sales service and support ranked fourth, down one position from 2023. Counter and will-call service rose from sixth to fifth, and outside salesperson presence and relationships advanced from eighth to sixth. Convenient locations dropped from fourth to seventh.
The rankings show a shift in the relative importance of distributor services. Price remains a leading consideration, but contractors placed both having products available and delivering them reliably ahead of it.
Contractors also differentiated among delivery services. Order accuracy ranked first, followed by consistent, on-time delivery windows and low or no delivery fees, according to ASA’s published summary. That ordering suggests distributors should evaluate delivery performance by whether customers receive the correct materials as well as whether trucks arrive on schedule.
Availability expectations differed by contractor segment. Residential contractors expected water heaters and rough-in materials to be available the same day, while commercial, mechanical, and industrial contractors expected standard pipe and valves by the next day, ASA reported. Those findings provide more specific benchmarks for distributors assessing inventory and fulfillment service.
The decline in the ranking for convenient locations, coupled with delivery’s rise, suggests that branch proximity carries less weight in supplier selection than it did in 2023. The results do not establish that contractors need fewer branches or that location is unimportant; they show that other factors moved ahead of convenience in the rankings.
Counter and will-call service’s advance also points to a distinction between where a branch is located and the service contractors receive there. Although convenient locations ranked lower, counter service moved higher, keeping branch operations among the leading considerations in distributor selection.
Outside sales relationships gained ground as well. Their move from eighth to sixth indicates that personal contact remains relevant alongside inventory and fulfillment capabilities, rather than disappearing as contractors gain more ways to place orders.
ASA’s summary found that post-sale problem-solving and technical assistance ranked as the most valuable services an outside salesperson could provide. It also reported that 59% of contractors wanted contact with their distributor’s outside salesperson at least monthly, rising to 80% among large contractors.
Together, the findings suggest that contractors value sales relationships that help resolve problems and support their work. For distributors, that creates a reason to assess sales service alongside warehouse and delivery performance when reviewing customer experience.
The rankings measure relative priorities, however, rather than willingness to pay. Delivery’s rise does not establish how much more contractors would spend for better service, and pricing’s move to third does not demonstrate that customers have become less price sensitive.
The clearest finding is that product availability retained its first-place position while delivery became a more prominent selection factor. Distributors reviewing their service can use those results to examine whether stocking decisions, order accuracy and delivery commitments align with what contractor customers value most.
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