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. Read about more entrepreneurs in the industry, and what’s driving their success, in the recent MDM article, The New Distribution Company.See an artist rendering of Berkshire eSupply’s soon-to-be new Detroit headquarters facility, which is currently under construction. They “know they won’t be competing ever with an imported product with the online catalog we’re offering,” Kahn said. Kahn Tools is concentrating on the small or mid-sized customer, and Kahn said the distributor has not had much trouble recruiting suppliers who are interested in the platform’s exclusive focus on American-made products. “In addition to supporting the American economy exclusively by buying from us,” Kahn said, “they will also have the opportunity to deal with seasoned professionals who spent their careers in specific product categories.” That differentiates the online-only venture from others, such as, he said. “The biggest number on our home page is our phone number,” Kahn said. It has recruited from a pool of machine shop and industrial distribution industry veterans and is focused on building a skilled employee base throughout the country. But the company is focused on more than just selling product. “We have unlimited scalability with our business,” Kahn said.Īs long as Kahn Tools can find suppliers, the distributor can add product categories. The distributor is adding thousands of products each month to its online offering Kahn Tools is taking advantage of master distributors and drop-ship from manufacturers to serve its customers. “I didn’t see any reason to build a bricks and mortar model to do what I was doing,” Kahn said. Kahn Tools launched in May, and is an industrial distributor of strictly American-made products.

The cost and the available skillsets to build an online offering made it an attractive platform for Kahn’s new venture, Kahn Tools at.

For Mark Kahn, former president of his family business, industrial distributor Production Tool Supply, the rise of the Web provided the opportunity to get back into the business after retiring in 2003.

Production tool supply sold