MSC Industrial Supply Co., a multibillion-dollar distributor, has long been relying on ecommerce as a key driver of its growth strategy. This week, the company's president and CEO Erik Gershwind said that the company plans to continue enhancing its digital channel.

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Total ecommerce sales for the fiscal second quarter ended March 4 increased 0.05% year over year to $595.8 million, amounting to 62% of total sales. In comparison, total sales increased 0.04% to $961.6 million.

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Gershwind said on a second-quarter earnings call that the company is "enhancing our ecommerce functionality and expect to see incremental benefits in the coming quarters." He added that the progress with the company's technology function is "encouraging" under the leadership of MSC’s first chief digital officer, John Hill.

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Kristen Actis-Grande, chief financial officer, noted that one of MSC’s priorities “is digital, which includes all aspects of MSCs digital engagement with customers, suppliers and associates.”

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Gershwind said that ecommerce has application across the board for all customer sizes, and that the company is "improving our product information and customer data, making for a better customer service experience and a more efficient business."

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MSC also saw growth in its internet-connected vending machines, with net sales growing mid-teens year over year and reaching $89.4 million, representing 15% of total net sales.

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In January, MSC completed the acquisition of two Ohio-based distributors: Buckeye Industrial Supply Co., a metalworking products distributor that caters to manufacturers, and True-Edge Grinding, which brings MSC “new capabilities in customer tool manufacturing and grinding,” Gershwind said.

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John Hill, MSC’s chief digital and information officer, will give a keynote address at Digital Commerce 360’s EnvisionB2B 2023 Conference & Exhibition in June in Chicago.

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Sources: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/04/06/msc-industrial-cites-ecommerce-as-key-to-its-growth/