Chicago-based Grainger (NYSE: GWW), No. 2 on MDM's list of the top 40 industrial distributors, was awarded a follow-on Schedule 51V contract by the General Services Administration (GSA). The 51V contract essentially gives approved suppliers authorization to market and sell to federal government customers through a variety of programs. For fiscal year 2017, Grainger was the top 51V supplier with $181 million in sales through the program, or 29 percent of the $627 million in sales through the Schedule 51V program in FY2017.
Top 10 Schedule 51V Suppliers in FY 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016 – Sept. 30, 2017)
Vendor Name Total Sales
| W. W. GRAINGER, INC. | $181,483,590 |
| NOBLE SALES CO., INC. | $59,784,058 |
| MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC. | $58,928,748 |
| WRIGHT TOOL COMPANY | $27,883,298 |
| IDSC HOLDINGS LLC (Snap-on Incorporated) | $19,571,808 |
| UNITED RENTALS, INC. | $17,080,877 |
| THE OFFICE GROUP INC | $15,459,042 |
| J & L AMERICA, INC. | $13,139,060 |
| CAPP, INC. | $11,953,109 |
| KIPPER TOOL COMPANY | $8,696,875 |
The new contract goes into effect Nov. 10, 2017, with an initial five-year term and can be renewed for three additional five-year terms upon mutual agreement. Grainger first entered its current Schedule 51V contract in 1999 and has realized more than $2 billion in sales under the contract. The new contract will run parallel to Grainger's current Schedule 51V contract, which expires in February 2019. These government contracts do not contain any minimum purchase requirements or volume guarantees.
Grainger offers Federal customers approximately 800,000 Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant products, such as safety supplies, material handling, tools, electrical, lighting, plumbing and HVAC supplies through its GSA Schedule, as well as AbilityOne®products to help support the National Industries for the Blind and the National Industries for the Severely Handicapped. Grainger also supports GSA Four-Party Logistics military base supply stores throughout the United States, Guam and Japan.
