Essendant, one of the nation’s largest wholesale distributors, is accelerating its transformation with a major logistics partnership and a decisive exit from the office supplies market that has defined it for more than a century.
The Deerfield, Illinois–based company announced a three-year partnership with transportation and logistics provider Hub Group to launch a new “managed delivery” model, a key element of Essendant’s “new way forward” supply chain strategy. The program, which begins November 1, integrates Hub Group’s nationwide truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and final mile network with Essendant’s existing warehouse infrastructure to deliver faster, more consistent service across all U.S. markets.
“This partnership enables Essendant to provide more efficient, predictable, and cost-disciplined deliveries to our customers’ warehouses,” said Tim Engstrom, senior vice president of supply chain at Essendant. “Hub Group’s managed delivery expertise ensures we can meet evolving customer needs while advancing our commitment to service with cost.”
The model uses Hub Group’s network of more than 200 final mile facilities to create a hub-and-spoke system capable of reaching 98% of the U.S. population within 48 hours. The program is designed to consolidate multi-stop truckload shipments, reduce transportation costs, and maintain consistent 95% on-time performance.
The logistics overhaul comes as Essendant winds down its independent office products dealer channel, marking the end of its long role in the sector it helped build. Founded as United Stationers and rebranded as Essendant in 2015, the company said earlier this month that it would phase out office supplies to focus on faster-growing categories such as janitorial and sanitation, foodservice, technology, and industrial products.
Essendant said the decision to exit office supplies reflects a broader effort to align operations with growth opportunities and strengthen its position in higher-demand segments. The move also underscores the company’s shift toward a more data-driven, customer-centric supply chain model built around reliability, efficiency, and cost control.
With the Hub Group partnership, Essendant is betting that streamlined logistics and a sharpened product focus will define its next chapter — one built less on paper and pens, and more on performance and precision.
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