Industry Insights
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The Distributor’s Dilemma: Caught Between a Disruption and a Customer Who Won’t Wait
The shift is from monitoring to acting. A modern disruption response system does not stop showing a user what is wrong.
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Reskilling Strategies on Automation That Keep Warehouse Operations Running Smoothly
Reskilling and upskilling are strategies to ensure warehouses run smoothly after technological advancements.
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Amazon Launches China-to-U.S. Warehouse Pipeline, Reshaping Competition for Distributors
For distributors competing on price, availability and supply chain efficiency, Amazon is increasing competitive pressure across all three — starting at the point of origin.
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Honeywell to Sell Warehouse Automation Unit to American Industrial Partners
For distributors, the implications center on how the business operates under new ownership.
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U.S. Manufacturing PMI Hits Near Four-Year High as Inventory Surge Masks Cost Pressures
The near-term order environment is strengthening, but the underlying drivers — pre-buying tied to cost hedging rather than end-customer pulls create meaningful risk later in the year.
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What Walmart’s New Facility Maintenance Business Means for Wholesale Distributors
Walmart has launched a commercial facility maintenance business, and the implications for wholesale distributors serving the HVAC, electrical, plumbing and MRO markets are more direct than they may first appear.
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Distributors Can Now Claim $127 Billion in Tariff Refunds — But It Won’t Be Simple
For wholesale distributors that spent the past year absorbing or passing along IEEPA tariff costs, the portal represents the first concrete mechanism for recovery.
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J.B. Hunt Says the Freight Market Has Structurally Changed — and Distributors Will Feel It
For wholesale distributors who built their logistics budgets around four years of soft spot pricing and shipper leverage, the environment has changed.
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Trump’s Section 232 Overhaul Hits Distributors with a Fundamentally New Tariff Calculation
Under the new framework, a 50% tariff applies to the full value of articles made entirely or almost entirely of steel, aluminum, or copper.
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Distributors Accelerate AI Deployment Across Supply Chain Operations
Among the use cases drawing the most capital and attention, demand forecasting and inventory planning are at the top
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Bluon Launches PartsConnect to Link HVAC Technicians With Local Distributor Inventory
The feature draws on Bluon’s database of more than 30 million unique model numbers spanning more than 240 original equipment manufacturers/
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Distributors Expand Regional Fulfillment Centers
Across verticals, the expansion activity reflects a consistent strategy: distributors are building larger, strategically located facilities to improve delivery speed and service levels in contractor-driven end markets.
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Chemical Ingredients Distributor Palmer Holland Appoints a CEO
Tim Skufca joined Palmer Holland in October 2025 as chief strategy officer, where he led strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions.
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Gordon Food Service to Upgrade Forecasting, Replenishment Across 185 Locations
Gordon Food Service is one of the largest foodservice distributors in North America, supplying food and related products to restaurants, healthcare providers, schools, and other institutional customers.
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Medline Deploys Automated Fulfillment System for Health Plan Orders
Pick Pack Pro integrates order batching, robotic sortation and automated packing and shipping to manage those fluctuations while maintaining delivery times and order accuracy.
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Tariffs, Metals Costs Keep Pressure on MRO Distributors
The current environment does not reflect a collapse in industrial demand. Instead, it reflects a tightening in the economics of distribution.
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U.S. Services Growth Slows in March as Cost Pressures Surge, ISM Says
The contraction in employment signals growing caution among businesses, including distributor customers.
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Rensa Filtration Acquires Air Filters Northwest, Expands Distribution and Service Network
The acquisition reflects ongoing consolidation in filtration distribution and rising demand for local service capabilities alongside product supply.
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Wholesale Jobs Slide in March as Data Points to Softer Demand for Distributors
After several years of demand volatility tied to inflation, tariffs and supply chain disruption, many distributors have moved into a more defensive operating posture.
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Tariffs Reset in April, Forcing Distributors to Navigate Rising Costs and Refund Backlog
Distributors that import directly are already absorbing higher tariff costs and managing refund filings, while those that rely on suppliers face a lag before those costs are reflected in pricing.