2019-2020 Purchasing Guide Volume 6

A Note From The President

Greetings to our valued customers, There is no doubt in my mind, 2018 was quite a whirlwind for you, like it was for all of us at Maintenance Supply Headquarters (MSH). Through many changes to our company and our industry we remain extremely excited about our future. In many cases, changes can bring uncertainty, but we promise to continue to make sound business decisions which will allow you to make confident decisions for your communities and your residents.

Tariffs: The proposed tariff increases by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U. S. Trade Representative (USTR) have caused many question marks for our company and yours. We have and will continue to see increases from our manufacturer/ supplier partners of anywhere from 4% to 25%. As a result, we have been unable to determine the full effect it still may have on our cost landscape for our products in the immediate future. For us to maintain adequate inventory levels to meet our commitment to you, for the first time in our history, we could not make a year-long commitment to pricing the printed version of our 2019 catalog. We understand that pricing consistency is very important to you for your budget planning and strategy. For that reason, we will make every effort to return to a priced version as soon as possible. We will also continue to keep you informed of various increases as we receive them from our manufacturers/ suppliers so you can plan accordingly and adjust your budgets as needed. Integration: Internally, we successfully completed a year-long integration with the former Central Wholesalers (CW). We sincerely thank each member of our dedicated integration teams who helped plan, implement and manage this complex process.