Fastenal Co., a billion-dollar-plus distributor of tools and equipment that businesses use to operate their facilities, will now provide the same kind of service to U.S. and Canadian hockey teams to keep their ice rinks operating and their players skating, according to a contract Fastenal and the National Hockey League announced today.
Fastenal will provide the teams with a mix of online and offline ways of purchasing products ranging from COVID-19 personal protective equipment to plumbing equipment and the power tools players and equipment managers use to prep hockey gear for games.
“Starting this season, we’ll provide them with the tools teams need to keep their players on ice and skates on ice,” says Casey Severson, Fastenal’s sports marketing project manager.
More than 4,000 ice rinks
The NHL and Fastenal announced a multiyear partnership naming Fastenal the league’s official provider of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products to help the NHL’s 31 teams (32 when the Seattle Sock Eyes start playing in the 2021-2022 season) maintain their ice rinks and equipment. The contract also extends to 4,800 community ice rinks across North America that maintain relationships with NHL teams.
An official logo for the Fastenal and NHL partnership.
Fastenal and the NHL will collaborate on developing a standardized equipment program to provide a broad range of the products needed to maintain ice rinks, maintain hockey gear, and protect visiting fans as well as keep hockey players safe, the two organizations said in their announcement. “This includes mechanical, electrical and plumbing products used to maintain rinks, sanitation and janitorial supplies required to keep facilities clean and safe, and power tools and accessories used by players and equipment managers to prep gear for gameplay,” they said.
Helping the NHL control spending
Fastenal, which relies on ecommerce—including Fastenal.com and internet-connected vending machines—to process more than one-third of its sales, will make its online channels as well as its physical branches and sales reps available to the NHL teams and the community rinks to let them place orders any way they prefer, Severson says.
“The partnership will also focus on helping these venues optimize operations by accessing process improvement tools to simplify procurement, control spending, and visualize inventory,” Fastenal and the NHL said.
Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week, covering technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact editor Paul Demery at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @pdemery.
Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when new Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content is published.
Favorite