By its reckoning, one of the largest distributors in markets serving janitorial, sanitation, and related verticals is hardly a household name. But the new interim CEO of Essendant Inc. is out to change that perception.

How Dave Boone — who was named interim CEO in May to replace Harry Dochelli, who retired — intends to do that is by transforming a traditional distribution company into a more streamlined organization focused on digital commerce and transformation.

Essendant is a national wholesale distributor with consolidated annual net sales of more than $5 billion. The company’s new corporate emphasis is on a new program Essendant calls Connected Commerce.

Essendant emphasizes its Connected Commerce services

Connected Commerce brings together Essendant’s capabilities to serve B2B sellers more effectively. It also seeks to efficiently drive visibility through a comprehensive platform of digital services that include:

• A connection to most major marketplaces, B2B platforms, and web stores. It also connects to nine of the top 10 national retailers.
• Deep ecommerce service and channel expertise for more than 1,300 major brands and 560 suppliers. This comes through 20 online storefronts and marketplaces.
• Fulfillment expertise and fast delivery. This includes next-day delivery to 98% of the U.S. with a national network of more than 20 fulfillment centers.
• A big focus will be on serving companies across the spectrum in business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C).

“50% of the shipments we make from our distribution centers go direct to the end user and are an ecommerce shipment,” Boone tells Digital Commerce 360. “This (Connected Commerce) is building what this company has been doing for a long time. What we have realized in the past six months has been that we have a set of assets that, put together properly, are a very compelling proposition for brands.”

Essendant is based in Deerfield, Illinois. Today, it distributes 2,000 brands and 80,000 SKUs across all major channels.

Key features of Connected Commerce

Through its new Connected Commerce program, Essendant will offer customers and users a defined set of tools and digital features. These tools enable them to:

• See optimized product listings and content for each channel.
• Have real-time inventory access.
• Implement performance tracking and trended guidance.
• Conduct pricing analysis and view competitive insights.
• Digitally monitor the sales process across marketplaces and channels.
• Use compliance expertise to sell directly to major retailers.
• Use a flexible network of coast-to-coast fulfillment centers.

“We have the fulfillment network established and have the capacity to grow it in the marketplace,” Boone says. “The second thing I think we have that is underappreciated is that this business is connected to every significant platform and company in the U.S. — that’s a big opportunity.”

Going into the next two decades with an organization with an established infrastructure and strategy focused on connected commerce will help Essendant conduct business in new and better ways, he says.

Boone, Essendant to keynote at EnvisionB2B 2024

“As we look at the next 10-20 years for this company — the ongoing growth of ecommerce B2B and B2C — we just felt that if we put these assets together in a more in a more comprehensive solution that it would be powerful.”

Boone and Essendant will be talking more about Essendant’s ongoing digital transformation at EnvisionB2B 2024 on Sept. 12 in Chicago.

His afternoon keynote fireside chat — A Better Way To (E)Commerce Excellence — will focus on how brand office supplies and industrial products manufacturers and distributors collaborate for growth through digital channels.