W.W. Grainger Business Strategy: a brief overview

W.W. Grainger business strategy relies on two business models depending on the type of customer: high-touch solutions and endless assortment. High-touch solutions business model focuses on large companies with complex needs mainly in North America and Europe. The endless assortment business model, on the other hand, targets customers with less complex needs with a broad range of products sold online. Endless assortment business model comprises Zoro in the US and MonotaRO in Japan.

Grainger business strategy consists of the following three elements:

1. Widest range of MRO products. An extensive assortment of products is Grainger’s unique selling proposition. The global industrial supply company sells about 1,7 million types of products supplied by about 5000 suppliers worldwide[1], along with offering value-added services such as inventory management and technical support.

2. Offering differentiated sales and services. Grainger pursues differentiation business strategy and differentiates sales and service practice on the grounds of speed and convenience. The global industrial supply company employs thousands of product segment specialists that can advice about technical aspects and specifications of products offered.

Advanced onmi-channel sales practice is another ground for differentiation for Grainger. The industrial supply company utilizes a wide range of sales channels such as online, mobile devices, sales representatives, local branches and product vending machines on customer sites.

3. Many branches in strategic locations. Grainger is one of the B2B distributors with the most branches. The company has 31 distribution centres in strategic locations and 457 branches worldwide. In the US alone, the industrial supply company has 16 distribution centres, 249 stand-alone branches, 32 onsite branches and 2 will-call express locations.[2] The great numbers of branches and their strategic positioning allows Grainger to delivery MRO products to end-users in a shortest period of time.

W.W. Grainger Report contains the above analysis of W.W. Grainger business strategy. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on W.W. Grainger. Moreover, the report contains analyses of W.W. Grainger leadership, organizational structure and organizational culture. The report also comprises discussions of W.W. Grainger marketing strategy, ecosystem and addresses issues of corporate social responsibility.

[1] Fact Book 2019 (2020) W.W. Grainger

[2]Fact Book 2019 (2020) W.W. Grainger