Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
Description
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of specialized equipment and supplies of the type used by service establishments (except specialized equipment and supplies used in offices, stores, hotels, restaurants, schools, health and medical facilities, photographic facilities, and specialized equipment used in transportation and construction activities). Illustrative Examples: Amusement park equipment merchant wholesalers Beauty parlor equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Car wash equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Drycleaning equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Voting machines merchant wholesalers Janitorial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Undertakers' equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Upholsterers' equipment and supplies (except fabrics) merchant wholesalers Water treatment equipment, municipal, merchant wholesalers
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. |
| 4238 | Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of construction, mining, farm, garden, industrial, service establishment, and transportation machinery, equipment, and supplies. |
| 42385 | Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 5-digit NAICS industry | See industry description for 423850. |
| 423850 | Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 6-digit U.S. detail | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of specialized equipment and supplies of the type used by service establishments (except specialized equipment and supplies used in offices, stores, hotels, restaurants, schools, health and medical facilities, photographic facilities, and specialized equipment used in transportation and construction activities). Illustrative Examples: Amusement park equipment merchant wholesalers Beauty parlor equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Car wash equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Drycleaning equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Voting machines merchant wholesalers Janitorial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Undertakers' equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers Upholsterers' equipment and supplies (except fabrics) merchant wholesalers Water treatment equipment, municipal, merchant wholesalers |
Need a supply chain stack that maps to this industry?
Use this NAICS classification as the starting point, then connect it to Item workflows across inventory, warehousing, order management, fulfillment, and transportation.
Classification References
- 01Merchant wholesale distribution of janitorial and automotive chemicals--are classified in Industry 424690, Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers;
- 02Merchant wholesale distribution of piece goods, fabrics, knitting yarns (except industrial), thread and other notions--are classified in Industry 424310, Piece Goods, Notions, and Other Dry Goods Merchant Wholesalers;
- 03Merchant wholesale distribution of industrial yarns--are classified in Industry 424990, Other Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers;
- 04Merchant wholesale distribution of plumbing and hydronic heating equipment--are classified in Industry 423720, Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies (Hydronics) Merchant Wholesalers; and
- 05Merchant wholesale distribution of grave markers, monuments, and tombstones--are classified in Industry 423990, Other Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers.
Index Items
Amusement park equipment merchant wholesalers
Barber shop equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Beauty parlor equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings merchant wholesalers
Brooms (except household-type) merchant wholesalers
Burial caskets merchant wholesalers
Car wash equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Carnival equipment merchant wholesalers
Carpet cleaning equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Caskets, burial, merchant wholesalers
Chairs, hydraulic, beauty and barber shop, merchant wholesalers
Clothes dryers (except household-type) merchant wholesalers
Coffins merchant wholesalers
Drycleaning equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Fare boxes, public transit vehicle, merchant wholesalers
Firefighting equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Floor maintenance equipment merchant wholesalers
Funeral home supplies merchant wholesalers
Furriers equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Hair preparations, professional, merchant wholesalers
Janitorial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Laundry machinery, equipment, and supplies, commercial, merchant wholesalers
Law enforcement equipment (except safety) merchant wholesalers
Locksmith equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Manicurists supplies merchant wholesalers
Massage equipment merchant wholesalers
Meters, parking, merchant wholesalers
Mops, industrial, merchant wholesalers
Padding, upholstery filling, merchant wholesalers
Patterns, shoe, merchant wholesalers
Pressure washers merchant wholesalers
Service establishment equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Shoe repair materials merchant wholesalers
Sprinkler systems, fire, merchant wholesalers
Tailors' supplies merchant wholesalers
Taxidermy supplies merchant wholesalers
Undertakers' equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Upholsterers' equipment and supplies (except fabrics) merchant wholesalers
Vacuum cleaning systems, commercial, merchant wholesalers
Voting machines merchant wholesalers
Water treatment equipment, municipal, merchant wholesalers
How Item Can Help
Item.com's Warehouse Management System optimizes storage for bulky, variable-size service equipment by automating inventory allocation and cycle counting, which reduces loss rates and speeds up order fulfillment for specialized parts like air filtration units.
The Order Management System unifies customer requests from multiple sales channels, ensuring that orders for specialized service kits or refills are processed instantly with real-time stock visibility across the network.
Transportation Management System routes time-sensitive deliveries of critical repair components directly to commercial service centers using carrier partnerships optimized for last-mile logistics, minimizing equipment downtime for end customers.
External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 423850.
American National Retail Association - Wholesalers Directory
A directory and resource hub provided by the trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of retail equipment and supplies.
U.S. Census Bureau - NAICS 423850
Official government data and definitions for Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers within the North American Industry Classification System.
National Association of Wholesale Distributors
An industry organization dedicated to wholesale distributors who provide equipment and supplies for service establishments.
