For Educators

Industrial distribution is a major employment sector, with more than 80,000 industrial distribution companies employing 3.3 million people across the U.S. and Canada and contributing more than 5% of total GDP.

Although not well-known, industrial distribution is a unique business model in which industrial product manufacturers use the distribution channel to serve and sell to industrial users.   The distributor works in partnership with the supplier manufacturer and offers important related or value-added services to strengthen supplier and customer relationships in a highly competitive marketplace.

In the large and very diverse industrial distribution sector, several specific positions (most often but not always titled inside sales representatives, customer service representatives and outside sales representatives) make up more than 15% of the total workforce.  These jobs offer good wages, good working conditions and good ladders for advancement, but too few potential employees know about or are prepared for these good jobs.

Filling these positions with capable people is vitally important to industrial distributors, and demand for these positions is expected to exceed 150,000 annually as the economy recovers and Baby Boomer retirements escalate.  But competition for skilled and capable employees will be fierce.

For more background information about industrial distribution, please visit our Discover Industrial Distribution section.