The Ecommerce Advantage for Industrial, Safety and MRO Distributors

If you’re a distributor in the industrial, safety, or maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) sector, you are likely feeling intense competitive pressures. From manufacturers investing heavily in direct-to-consumer (DTC) models to online marketplaces like Amazon Business increasing their market share, and more suppliers leaning heavily on digital strategy. 

Manufacturers are bypassing you, the distributor, to sell directly to end-users. Deloitte research shows that 60% of industrial manufacturers plan to increase DTC investments by 2025. With no middleman, manufacturers keep more revenue, gain access to customer data, and hold stronger control over their brand identity. 

Companies like Grainger, Fastenal, and MSC Industrial now generate more than two-thirds of all sales digitally. But it’s not just the big box competitors that have moved online; even smaller players are stepping up. Sixty-one percent of industrial distributors consider ecommerce a priority. Why? Because it works. 

As of the first quarter of 2025, approximately 30% of W.W. Grainger's total revenue is generated through its ecommerce segment. Unfortunately, ecommerce is not a slow shift—it’s a sprint. If you don’t have an ecommerce strategy already, you risk falling behind. 

Today’s buyers demand speed, convenience, and autonomy—and they’re getting it from your competitors. Research shows that 60% of B2B customers find remote sales as effective as traditional methods, and 62% prefer to reorder online. With 57% of distributors prioritizing customer experience, ecommerce becomes a natural focal point.  

In short, it makes doing business with you easy—and keeps customers returning. 

Distributors can use ecommerce to deepen existing customer relationships to build profitability. 

According to Industrial Supply,  

• 59% of distributors use ecommerce to grow revenue from existing customers through targeted marketing, personalized merchandising, and promotions.
• 55% of distributors use ecommerce to increase average transaction sizes by automating recommendations for up-sell or cross-sell.
• 54% of distributors use ecommerce to enhance order frequency through features like Quicklists, recurring orders, and purchase histories. 

Plus, with your store open 24/7, you’ll never miss a sale! 

Almost half of distributors (49%) say their focus is winning new customers in established markets. Ecommerce simplifies this, allowing you to sell beyond your local area, regionally, nationally, or globally—all without expanding brick-and-mortar locations. When you boost brand visibility with SEO and online ads, you can reach entirely new customer markets on an ecommerce website. 

When you’re in a market saturated with DTC sellers and big box competitors, efficiency matters. Ecommerce helps you do more with less: 

• Automating order processing reduces manual entry and overhead costs
• ERP integration also reduces manual entry and human error 
• Online invoicing gets your money back faster, boosting cash flow
• Self-service portals relieve administrative teams by reducing support tickets and freeing internal teams
• AI tools, such as agents or blog-writing tools, enable you to grow your brand presence. 

To take advantage of your own ecommerce wins, consider EvolutionX—the purpose-built ecommerce platform for industrial, safety, and MRO supply companies. Implementation is quick and straightforward with integrations to industry-standard ERPs, such as Netsuite, Epicor Eclipse, P21, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks, and Acumatica. 

EvolutionX is equipping distributors with the tools to provide the experience customers expect.  

As competitors in the industrial, safety, and MRO sectors go digital and manufacturers embrace DTC models, the traditional sales methodology is no longer sustainable. Now is the time to act.