Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND), Deerfield, IL, has announced organizational changes "to adapt to the changing marketplace and improve focus on key customer channels by flattening the company's overall structure and better aligning accountabilities across the organization to improve execution."

The business will be organized around its two primary customer channels: Business & Facility Essentials and Industrial Essentials. Harry Dochelli will serve as president of Business & Facility Essentials. Ric Phillips will serve as group president of Industrial Essentials; he also will continue as president of ORS Nasco and add oversight of MEDCO Automotive and CPO. Dochelli and Phillips will report to CEO Bob Aiken.

Essendant also announced that COO Tim Connolly will be leaving the company, effective Sept. 2, to pursue other opportunities. As part of the organizational changes, Essendant will not seek a replacement for the COO role.