PRODUCTION TOOL SUPPLY SOLD UPDATE

With the first being a large MROP inventory. JB: It’s a menu - a veritable smorgasbord of services they can choose from. It seems independents have quite a lot of options for boosting their capabilities through Berkshire. MH: Berkshire eSupply offers its distributors a large array of services, ranging from reducing on-site inventory, private label e-commerce solutions, punch-out catalogs, vending machines and beyond. If a distributor chooses not to connect to their ERP, all processes can be managed on the back end of the platform. By doing this, they can manage their customer pricing, stock, order tracking, etc. Most partners that are on this platform are connected to their ERP. MH: And what about ERP? Can distributors link their ERP system to the e-commerce platform? The system sends them an email saying “these brands and SKUs were added for you” - It’s that easy! Once they are uploaded to the cloud, they are updated on the distributor’s platform automatically. Today we have over 1 million SKUs on the platform and are aggressively expanding.

PRODUCTION TOOL SUPPLY SOLD UPDATE

Our cloud-based system allows for us to manage product content and update each distributor’s webstore with product updates and product expansions via the cloud. Berkshire has no access to their information. JB: We are providing a comprehensive e-commerce channel for their customers to buy through while removing the barrier of entry cost. Our goal is to make sure the independents are supplied with a very robust MROP product offering to complement their go-to-market strategies and to expand their reach.

For all these categories, we already have the data-attributes populated down to the SKU level available for distributors to add to their offering on their own private label webstore. Our objective is to penetrate each of these categories by providing online content for the distributor’s e-commerce webstores. There are about 26 MROP product categories in the industrial market. JB: We’re also going to expand our product portfolio significantly. MH: And how about the Berskshire eSupply product expansion plans? We match local strengths and consolidated resources. We enable the independents to have a web store, print material and marketing capabilities, but most importantly, a vast MROP product offering. Our goal is to have three-to-five state-of-the-art DCs to fulfill orders across North America to the independent distributor or blind ship directly to the distributor’s customer. JB: Now with Berkshire Hathaway resources, we’re reinvesting in the company. What can we expect to see in terms of expansion in the near future? MH: Berkshire eSupply has a solid foundation from which to start this master wholesaler operation. We have been providing wholesale services for over 65 years and with our new ownership, we are building an infrastructure to take our support to the next level.

Independent distributors are looking for resources to compete. John Beaudoin, Berkshire eSupply president: If you look at the marketplace itself - let’s call the North American MROP marketplace at about $150 billion - Berkshire saw a large fragmentation. Mike Hockett, Industrial Distribution editor: What sparked Berkshire’s drive to create this new master distributor entity?

I recently had an exclusive interview with Berskshire eSupply president John Beaudoin about the company’s development so far, its plans going forward and the role it will play in the greater MROP distribution space. John Beaudoin, President of Berkshire eSupply An artist rendering of Berkshire eSupply's new Detroit headquarters facility. See an artist rendering of Berkshire eSupply’s soon-to-be new Detroit headquarters facility, which is currently under construction.

Production tool supply sold