Progressive Distributor - MRO buyer preferences

MRO buyer preferences

by Rich Vurva

A recent survey conducted by our end-user publication, MRO Today, revealed some interesting facts about the buying preferences of MRO buyers. The results should bring a smile to the face of independent distributors.

Respondents to the survey overwhelmingly said they prefer to work with local distributors compared to national chains. Asked to answer the question, Do you prefer to work with local, regional or national distributors? 59 percent said they prefer doing business with local distributors, 8 percent said they’d rather work with regional distributors, 12 percent have a preference for national distributors and 21 percent said it doesn’t matter.

When asked How much do you rely on your distributors for information on new tools and technologies? 48 percent of the end-users surveyed said “quite a bit,” 3 percent said they relied on distributors for such information “almost exclusively,” 22 percent answered “half the time,” 24 percent responded “a little bit” and 3 percent said “not at all.”

Survey respondents were also asked what factors influence their decision to purchase MRO supplies and services from a specific distributor. They said availability, quality, total cost, service/technical assistance and ease of doing business were the biggest factors.

Not surprisingly, the MRO Today survey also discovered that cutting costs and increasing productivity are the top two concerns among MRO buyers. Perhaps that explains in part why MRO buyers prefer doing business with local distributors. When pressure comes down from management to do things better, faster and cheaper, they want to know they have someone nearby they can turn to for assistance.

The survey is welcome news for independent distributors. It suggests local distributors have done a good job of demonstrating their value proposition to customers while national chains, catalog houses, and big boxes all vie for the attention of the industrial buyer. But it doesn’t mean they can become complacent. Buyers like doing business with someone they know and trust. In the end, however, they’ll work with whoever helps them achieve their current objectives.