Scribd
Upload
3K views5 pages

W.W. Grainger and Mcmaster-Carr: Mro Suppliers: Alejandro Casanueva Hurtado 23611

W.W. Grainger and McMaster-Carr are MRO suppliers that sell maintenance, repair, and operations products through catalogs and websites. Both companies stock over 100,000 products and obtain the rest from suppliers as needed. They face strategic issues like how many distribution centers to build and where to locate them, how to manage product stocking across distribution centers, and which products to keep in inventory versus sourcing from suppliers.

Uploaded by

Hitisha agrawal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3K views5 pages

W.W. Grainger and Mcmaster-Carr: Mro Suppliers: Alejandro Casanueva Hurtado 23611

W.W. Grainger and McMaster-Carr are MRO suppliers that sell maintenance, repair, and operations products through catalogs and websites. Both companies stock over 100,000 products and obtain the rest from suppliers as needed. They face strategic issues like how many distribution centers to build and where to locate them, how to manage product stocking across distribution centers, and which products to keep in inventory versus sourcing from suppliers.

Uploaded by

Hitisha agrawal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

W.W.

Grainger and McMaster-


Carr: MRO Suppliers
Alejandro Casanueva Hurtado
23611
 W.W. Grainger and McMaster-Carr sell maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products.
Both companies have catalogs, as well as web pages through which orders can be placed
W.W. Grainger also has several hundred stores throughout the United States. Costumers can
walk into a store, call in an order, or place it via the web. W.W. Grainger orders are either
shipped to the customer or picked up by the costumer at one of its stores. McMaster-Carr, on
the other hand, ship almost all its orders (though a few customers near its DC´s do pick up
their own orders). W.W. Grainger has nine DCs that both replenish stores and fill customer
orders. McMaster has DCs from which all orders are fielded. Neither McMaster or W.W.
Grainger manufactures any product,. They primarily serve the role of a distributor or retailer.
Their success is largely linked to their supply chain management ability.
 Both firms offer several hundred thousand products to their customer. Each firm stock more
than 100,000 products, with the rest boing obtained from the supplier as needed. Both firms
face the following strategic and operational issues:
How many DCs should be built and where
should they be located?
 According to the history of business and distribution policies that manage, we do not
consider to be constructed more CD as McMaster-Carr has CD in New Jersey, Los
Angeles, Atlanta and Cleveland, and this catalog that have on the web, it facilitates the
delivery of orders and to cover delivery in the US, plus it until today has not seen the need
to open more CD, because it has an efficient management of its supply chain .
 Meanwhile, Grainger, delivery the next day as well as handle a short period of time which
the customer can wait without much trouble delivering your order, in addition to the
website and the catalog that is in it allows the product to be without going to the place
where the product is physically located is chosen.
How should product stocking be managed at
the DCs? Should all DCs carry all products?
 Their products should be categorized as both companies handle various products, such as
motors, tools, circular pumps among others. This is to facilitate the location and order in
the warehouse.
 Not necessarily they must have in store all products, as there are products with higher and
lower demand for parts customers
What product should be carried in inventory
and what products should be left with supplier?
 The inventory exist in the supply chain due to the mismatch between supply and demand
which has a product, so that the products should be taken into inventory are forecast to
meet the customer demand, so when customers need it to supply immediately, so the
inventory and flow time is determined by demand, that the case of McMaster-Carr serious
products for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials manufacturing facilities
and trade; and in the case of Grainger industrial products such as motors, lighting, material
handling, fasteners, plumbing, tools and safety supplies, among others.

You might also like