Mike Hockett

Proton.ai’s new agentic system converts customer emails, spreadsheets, PDFs and spoken requests into draft quotes and orders while handling follow-ups and product substitutions.

NAW’s latest EPR challenge targets Colorado’s packaging recycling law, marking the association’s third legal action against state EPR programs after its Oregon and California filings.

Home Depot created an "Office of Pro Acceleration" to coordinate its expanding contractor-focused businesses, technology and fulfillment capabilities as it pursues a larger share of a $700 billion Pro market.

Grainger extended its early-2026 momentum with robust daily organic sales growth, double-digit gains across most end markets and another outlook increase. Volume became the larger driver in its core U.S. business, while tariff refunds supplied most of the quarter’s gross margin lift.

Amazon will automatically reimburse customers in limited cases where it can trace tariff-related charges to specific purchases. Its approach offers distributors a framework for deciding whether refunds should be retained, returned directly or reflected in future pricing.

ADI Global Distribution’s launch as an independent public company and Ferguson’s elevation to the S&P 500 delivered a rare double milestone for wholesale distribution — and a timely reminder of the industry’s scale, resilience and economic importance.

The fasteners and hardware products distributor is acquiring Kanebridge to establish a U.S. industrial master distribution platform. Hillman separately reported 10% second-quarter sales growth and raised its 2026 outlook.

The pumping solutions and MRO distributor posted 15.6% sales growth and expanded its DXP Water platform into Western Canada.

The company posted its 13th straight month of double-digit daily sales growth as its three largest end markets all improved from June. Get our detailed breakdown and analysis of the figures.

This this Q&A piece, Ducker Carlisle’s Amy Marzonie and Chris Fisher explain how consolidators are using inventory turns, delivery performance and cost-to-serve to assess distributor scalability — and why operational discipline alone won’t maximize growth or valuation.