Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers
Description
Businesses in this sector function as primary intermediaries between software developers and hardware manufacturers, retail outlets, and enterprise data centers. Their core mission involves the merchant wholesale distribution of computing hardware, including desktop towers, laptops, servers, and a vast array of peripheral devices such as printers, storage drives, and networking gear. These entities also play a critical role in moving software products, ranging from operating systems and productivity suites to specialized industrial applications, from original creators to end users. Typical activities encompass bulk purchasing, inventory management, order fulfillment, and maintaining complex logistics networks to ensure timely delivery to diverse clients. Unlike retailers, these operators do not generally sell directly to individual consumers but rather facilitate B2B transactions. The industry includes independent wholesale houses, large regional distribution firms, and integrated technology retailers that maintain wholesale divisions. These entities often operate with significant capital reserves and staff specialized teams dedicated to sales, procurement, and account management. In terms of scale, operations vary from small, locally focused distributors serving specific regional markets to massive national or multinational conglomerates with warehouses spanning multiple continents. These large players can move millions of dollars worth of goods annually, holding substantial inventories of both physical equipment and digital licenses to support the global digital economy and drive technological adoption across various sectors.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Wholesale Trade 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The merchandise described in this sector includes the outputs of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and certain information industries, such as publishing. The wholesaling process is an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise. Wholesalers are organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of (a) goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other wholesalers or retailers), (b) capital or durable nonconsumer goods, and (c) raw and intermediate materials and supplies used in production. Wholesalers sell merchandise to other businesses and normally operate from a warehouse or office. These warehouses and offices are characterized by having little or no display of merchandise. In addition, neither the design nor the location of the premises is intended to solicit walk-in traffic. Wholesalers do not normally use advertising directed to the general public. Customers are generally reached initially via telephone, in-person marketing, or by specialized advertising that may include Internet and other electronic means. Follow-up orders are either vendor-initiated or client-initiated, generally based on previous sales, and typically exhibit strong ties between sellers and buyers. In fact, transactions are often conducted between wholesalers and clients that have long-standing business relationships. This sector comprises two main types of wholesalers: merchant wholesalers that sell goods on their own account and agents and brokers that arrange sales and purchases for others generally for a commission or fee. (1) Establishments that sell goods on their own account are known as wholesale merchants, distributors, jobbers, drop shippers, and import/export merchants. Also included as wholesale merchants are sales offices and sales branches (but not retail stores) maintained by manufacturing, refining, or mining enterprises apart from their plants or mines for the purpose of marketing their products, and group purchasing organizations primarily purchasing and selling goods on their own account. Merchant wholesale establishments typically maintain their own warehouse, where they receive and handle goods for their customers. Goods are generally sold without transformation, but may include integral functions, such as sorting, packaging, labeling, and other marketing services. (2) Establishments arranging for the purchase or sale of goods owned by others or purchasing goods, generally on a commission basis are known as business-to-business electronic markets, agents and brokers, commission merchants, import/export agents and brokers, auction companies, group purchasing organizations (acting as agents), and manufacturers' representatives. These establishments operate from offices and generally do not own or handle the goods they sell. Some wholesale establishments may be connected with a single manufacturer and promote and sell the particular manufacturer's products to a wide range of other wholesalers or retailers. Other wholesalers may be connected to a retail chain, or limited number of retail chains, and only provide a variety of products needed by that particular retail operation(s). These wholesalers may obtain the products from a wide range of manufacturers. Still other wholesalers may not take title to the goods, but act as agents and brokers for a commission. Although, in general, wholesaling normally denotes sales in large volumes, durable nonconsumer goods may be sold in single units. Sales of capital or durable nonconsumer goods used in the production of goods and services, such as farm machinery, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and industrial machinery, are always included in wholesale trade. |
| 423 | Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector sell capital or durable goods to other businesses. Merchant wholesalers generally take title to the goods that they sell; in other words, they buy and sell goods on their own account. Durable goods are new or used items generally with a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Durable goods merchant wholesale trade establishments are engaged in wholesaling products, such as motor vehicles, furniture, construction materials, machinery and equipment (including household-type appliances), metals and minerals (except petroleum), sporting goods, toys and hobby goods, recyclable materials, and parts. Agents and brokers primarily engaged in wholesaling durable goods, generally on a commission or fee basis, are classified in Subsector 425, Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers. |
| 4234 | Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of photographic equipment and supplies; office, computer, and computer peripheral equipment; and medical, dental, hospital, ophthalmic, and other commercial and professional equipment and supplies. |
| 42343 | Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers 5-digit NAICS industry | See industry description for 423430. |
| 423430 | Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers 6-digit U.S. detail | Businesses in this sector function as primary intermediaries between software developers and hardware manufacturers, retail outlets, and enterprise data centers. Their core mission involves the merchant wholesale distribution of computing hardware, including desktop towers, laptops, servers, and a vast array of peripheral devices such as printers, storage drives, and networking gear. These entities also play a critical role in moving software products, ranging from operating systems and productivity suites to specialized industrial applications, from original creators to end users. Typical activities encompass bulk purchasing, inventory management, order fulfillment, and maintaining complex logistics networks to ensure timely delivery to diverse clients. Unlike retailers, these operators do not generally sell directly to individual consumers but rather facilitate B2B transactions. The industry includes independent wholesale houses, large regional distribution firms, and integrated technology retailers that maintain wholesale divisions. These entities often operate with significant capital reserves and staff specialized teams dedicated to sales, procurement, and account management. In terms of scale, operations vary from small, locally focused distributors serving specific regional markets to massive national or multinational conglomerates with warehouses spanning multiple continents. These large players can move millions of dollars worth of goods annually, holding substantial inventories of both physical equipment and digital licenses to support the global digital economy and drive technological adoption across various sectors. |
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Classification References
- 01Merchant wholesale distribution of modems, routers, printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and other electronic communications equipment--are classified in Industry 423690, Other Electronic Parts and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers; and
- 02Selling, planning, and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software, and communication technologies--are classified in U.S. Industry 541512, Computer Systems Design Services.
Index Items
Computer boards, loaded, merchant wholesalers
Computer data storage devices merchant wholesalers
Computer peripheral equipment merchant wholesalers
Computer printers merchant wholesalers
Computer software, packaged, merchant wholesalers
Computer terminals merchant wholesalers
Computers merchant wholesalers
Data keying equipment merchant wholesalers
Data processing machines, computer, merchant wholesalers
Digitizer and light pen tables merchant wholesalers
Disk drives, computer, merchant wholesalers
Diskettes, blank computer, merchant wholesalers
Font cartridges merchant wholesalers
Game software merchant wholesalers
Keyboards, computer, merchant wholesalers
Loaded computer boards merchant wholesalers
Memory boards merchant wholesalers
Microprocessors merchant wholesalers
Monitor screen projection devices merchant wholesalers
Monitors, computer, merchant wholesalers
Motherboards, loaded, merchant wholesalers
Peripheral equipment, computer, merchant wholesalers
Plotters merchant wholesalers
Printers, computer, merchant wholesalers
Scanners, computer, merchant wholesalers
Software, computer, packaged, merchant wholesalers
Sound boards, computer, merchant wholesalers
USB flash drives (e.g., thumbdrives, jumpdrives) merchant wholesalers
Video boards merchant wholesalers
Voice recognition equipment merchant wholesalers
How Item Can Help
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External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 423430.
National Association of Supply Chain Professionals
A trade association focused on supply chain professionals including computer merchant wholesalers.
U.S. Census Bureau Business Industry Profile
Official government data and profile on the NAICS 423430 industry.
Industry Directory of Computer Wholesalers
A directory listing member companies in the computer and peripheral equipment wholesale sector.
