Inside Orgill’s technology tactics
Orgill, which was founded before the Civil War during the James K. Polk administration, has not historically been known as a leading technology innovator. But that’s changing, thanks to a tech-heavy approach embraced by CEO Boyden Moore.
“Our roots are as a distributor, but it’s fun to find new ways to help customers be more successful,” Moore told HBSDealer at Orgill’s recent Spring Dealer Market in New Orleans.
He views technology as a key way to “eliminate scale disadvantage for the smaller guys.” It’s also a key to help Orgill unlock more business amid ongoing fallout from True Value’s bankruptcy, about which Moore said: “We’ve had a lot of people reaching out. It made a lot of those dealers analyze what their options were. They hadn’t had a need to do that, but there are definitely more open ears than in the past.”
Leading the company’s charge into the wild blue yonder of innovation is Marc Hamer, Orgill’s executive vice president, chief information and technology officer, who has been with the company since 2020.
Orgill’s tech stack and approach
“I always look at tech in two ways,” Hamer says, “What does Orgill need? Second, what do our dealers need?”
It’s a vast domain that entails finding new solutions to streamline retail operations and distribution strategy, as well as bolster enterprise tech efforts for Orgill’s nearly 6,000 employees.
Hamer points to several new initiatives, such as the implementation of Geek+ warehouse automation technology in designated Orgill facilities, which he says “helps us move three times faster with fewer people.” You can see robotic picking and sorting in action below at the company’s distribution center in Tifton, Ga.
The company also has launched a new HCM (human capital management) system to ensure Orgill and its subsidiaries, Tyndale Advisors and CNRG, are all on the same systems and analyzing the same data. With up-to-date companywide data sharing, Hamer says, Operations can see where there are bottlenecks while Credit and Finance can also spot pricing opportunities or gaps, for instance. All told, Orgill sells roughly 500,000 SKUs but keeps track of 1.4 million SKUs in a PIM (product info management) system, which enables it to monitor a broader swath of what’s selling industrywide.
“My No. 1 job is to make everyone else’s job easier and more efficient,” Hamer says.
Moving forward, Hamer says “clean, accurate data” (for employees, customers, vendors and products) is a top priority.
“As we standardize and integrate our data effectively, it will become a powerful way of optimizing our supply chain. Additionally, it enables us to analyze sales trends, identify inventory needs and negotiate better pricing and service levels with our suppliers.”
Tech challenges—and opportunities
“We want to come up with better pricing solutions for retail and dealers,” Hamer says. To that end, the company is in the process of implementing a new pricing solution at the distribution level. It’s also crafting different programs for dealers, which compare data with the competition and include regional sales data to see what items are selling well in their area. Ultimately, it’s a way to show customers what their competitors are selling a ton of, says Hamer. (Imagine the competitive advantage of having real-time insights into the product offerings, inventory changes and replenishment cycles of the competition.)
“The more value we deliver to our partners, the more data they’ll be willing to share with us. By gaining insights into their optimal inventory needs, we can make more strategic purchasing decisions and enhance the overall value we provide,” Hamer says.
Keeping everyone on the same page
Hamer says he strives to be the central hub that brings all the departments of Orgill together. With nearly 6,000 employees, that’s no easy task, but “having a Customer Relationship Management platform <Salesforce> has been huge.” Each department used to have different systems and siloed information. Now, everyone sees the same data—and can plan or collaborate accordingly.
Part of the job is education, too. Hamer says he’s working hard to ensure everyone in the company is aware of what’s possible in terms of automated inventory management, for instance, along with other emerging tech to make colleagues’ lives easier.
The company also recently implemented a companywide intranet (called “IN-SITE”) that features specific channels and static pages to keep everyone organized, informed and educated. IN-SITE provides a centralized space where employees can access announcements, policies, procedures and processes, fostering collaboration and engagement while ensuring seamless communication across the company.
What tech priorities are next?
In Hamer’s view, the company’s ongoing pricing project will be a “huge win” that will bring tangible value to Orgill, CNRG and dealers. Making it easier to buy and sell online, streamlining in-store pickup, and overall improvement of e-commerce is also in the crosshairs. “We are committed to significantly enhancing our e-commerce capabilities, addressing the top concerns of our dealers. By leveraging personalization and agility, we can create a more tailored and responsive experience—setting us apart from our competitors.”
Moore agrees that the company is focusing on conquering the digital frontier—especially in terms of managing new customer growth. “For Orgill, we have a lot of new business coming online. How to speed up some of those conversions is crucial,” he says, sharing that Orgill completed 581 store projects in 2024 including roughly 300 full conversions. Moore says Orgill added more than 1,000 new stores each year in 2024 and 2023 and is now shipping to about 13,500 of the approximately 30,000 independent hardware stores, home centers and lumberyards in the U.S.
Despite ever-growing numbers, that word, “personalization,” will remain key moving forward. “The reason why independents are powerful is that personal touch,” Hamer says.
Another unique approach Orgill is taking toward personalization and reaching new customers is through its nearly 150 CNRG stores, which Moore views as live “labs” to test out new retail ideas and strategies. Moore points out that the first thing visitors saw when entering the show floor at Orgill’s recent Spring Dealer Market was a model store. ”We’re trying to display the future. We’ve been using CNRG and Tyndale as the tip of the spear to improve retail services we offer to customers. We have those stores to show how to reduce the gap between the big-box and independent channel,” Moore says.
That multi-pronged approach speaks to Orgill’s broader evolution, well beyond just that of a distributor, and more akin to a strategist, consultant and much more.
