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Playbook · Industrial Distribution

How to automate the RFQ and sourcing process in Industrial Distribution (2026)

Last updated September 2026

The short answer

Quote in minutes, not days — and never overpay again. 4 steps, in order, for a industrial distribution operation.

What you are working against in Industrial distribution

  • Overstocked in one branch, out of stock in another
  • Dead stock accumulating across the network with no owner
  • Turns and write-offs scrutinized every quarter

Before you start: where Industrial distribution usually sits

MetricTypical for Industrial distributionWhat good looks like
Days Sales of Inventory 60–120 days Top quartile turns inventory in under 75 days
Inventory Turnover Ratio 3–5 turns Top quartile above 5
Inventory Carrying Cost 25–40% / yr Wholesale holding often exceeds 25%
GMROI 1.8–3.0 Top quartile above 3

Published ranges, not targets. Take your own baseline before step one.

The steps

  1. 1Compress RFQ cycles from days to minutes
  2. 2Benchmark every quote against fair market value to flag overpriced buys
  3. 3Compare supplier options and internal surplus in one pass
  4. 4Cut maverick and off-contract tail spend

Why it pays off

days → under 2 hours
Manual RFQ cycles of 3–4 days can be compressed to under two hours with structured automation.
Elisa IndustriQ
20–30%
20–30% of indirect spend leaks to maverick, off-contract buying.
McKinsey (via GEP)
10 days
Top-performing procurement teams reach a 10-day procure-to-pay cycle versus roughly two weeks at the median.
APQC (via SDCExec)

Frequently asked questions

How do you tell whether this is working in industrial distribution?

Recompute the same way each period. Quote Turnaround Time: Quote Turnaround = Time(quote sent) − Time(RFQ received).

What does Industrial distribution start from?

Days Sales of Inventory of 60–120 days is the published band for industrial distribution — top quartile turns inventory in under 75 days. The 4 steps above are the same in any sector; the band you start from is not.

See what your inventory is really costing you.

Tell us where the cash is trapped — excess stock, idle surplus, slow RFQs — and we'll show you the outcome Maintained can unlock.

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