§ · WHAT’S ON YOUR SHELF VS. WHAT BUYERS CAN FIND
Your inventory is rich.
Your visibility is thin.
Distributors live and die by what’s on the shelf. But the modern buyer’s first move
is a search — and if your SKUs aren’t indexed, your shelf doesn’t exist online.
Below: a snapshot of what an unmarketed distributor catalog actually looks like
from the buyer’s side of the screen.
SKU DESCRIPTION ON HAND STATUS
BR-6204-2RS Sealed deep-groove bearing, 20×47×14 142 INDEXED
FN-G5-3/8-16 Hex-head cap screw, grade 5, 3/8-16 ×1.5 980 NOT INDEXED
HF-JIC-08 JIC hydraulic fitting, -8 male, straight 42 NOT INDEXED
AB-G36-7 Resin-bonded grinding wheel, 7" × 1/4" 0 OUT
EL-CB-20A 20A circuit breaker, single-pole, type QO 88 NOT INDEXED