Grainger Prepares for New Website

Grainger continues to invest in its website as it prepares to introduce its latest iteration.

We recently received an email announcing that the new site will be “up and running” in the next few weeks. The site will feature:

• Improved searching
• New site features that will enhance productivity
• Enhanced account information
• Easier catalog access

In essence, they’ve made the site easier.

Here’s the screen shot they are sharing with customers.

All this and they have added significantly added a number of SKUs to their catalog.

And their ability to invest should enable them to capture more share from multiple vertical markets.

According to customers and competitors, they are the acknowledged e-catalog leader. In environments where e-catalogs are requested (especially on RFPs) such as in the educational, institutional, healthcare and industrial markets, and can be very difficult to compete against. And they are very strong in the government market.

Which brings us to competing against them, and some questions.

• Are they able to compete against them solely because of their size and ability to invest in their website?
• If Grainger is able to create the functionality that customers want, why can’t industry ERP systems (who have more clients they can spread the cost over)?
• If Grainger can develop the content, why can’t someone else (a third party in conjunction with the ERP companies)? Conceptually IDEA’s IDW is supposed to have the capability if manufacturers populated all of the attributed fields and descriptions, but … And Trade Service’s CatalogConnect has much content, but needs more to compete with a Grainger as well as the functionality of an ERP system?
• How come Grainger can understand, and market, e-commerce to its customers but others are challenged? (not only electrical, but other vertical markets also)

It’s questionable if Grainger is able to recoup all of its “e” investment (software, hardware, catalog development) from strictly their website, but we’d surmise that they consider how this capability helps them capture, and retain, overall business.

As an electrical distributor, what do you see as the challenges to developing an “e” part of your bsuiness? Is an “e” strategy important to the future of your business? What should ERP companies (Activant, Infor, others) provide distributors? Which distributors do you think have good websites?

If distributors don’t compete (and their providers help them), someday Grainger may develop an electrical only offering to capture more business.