NAED
NAED is a 115-year-old U.S. non-profit trade association serving electrical distributors through education and certification programs (EPEC, CEP, Leadership Development), proprietary benchmarking research (PAR Report, Economic Outlook), digital tools (X-Check cross-reference database), and supply-chain infrastructure initiatives like ProjectNexus.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1908
- HeadquartersSaint Louis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NAED does
NAED (National Association of Electrical Distributors), legally operating as NAED Education & Research Foundation, Inc., is a U.S. non-profit trade association founded in 1908 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The organization serves electrical distributors and their employees by delivering education and certification programs (EPEC with 42,000+ graduates over 40 years, CEP with 140+ courses, a 12-month Leadership Development Program, and Green to Great Onboarding), proprietary industry benchmarking research (the annual PAR Report with 35+ years of history, the Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Report, and the quarterly Economic & Industry Sector Outlook covering 102 MSAs and 8 industry sectors), and digital tools (the X-Check cross-reference database with 400,000+ items from 700+ manufacturers, and the Connected Business Assessment).
The underlying technology stack includes an association management platform with an integrated learning management system (NAED Learning Center), a member-facing e-commerce storefront (NAED Shop), a member community hub, and digital assessment tools. Most recently, NAED co-invested with IDEA and Pull Logic to develop 'ProjectNexus' (Where's My Stuff?), an industry-owned middleware solution for supply-chain visibility across manufacturers, distributors, and contractors.
NAED's business model is diversified across seven primary revenue streams: recurring membership dues, annual benchmarking report subscriptions, quarterly economic outlook subscriptions, education program enrollments, conference and event registration fees, X-Check database licensing via the DATAgility partnership, and corporate partner sponsorships (notably from Hubbell and Schneider Electric). The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on industry presence, member referrals, conference engagement, and published thought leadership via the tED magazine and NAED Blog. Members receive substantial pricing discounts on most products, reinforcing the membership as the central commercial relationship.
NAED firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NAED
- Legal name
- NAED Education & Research Foundation, Inc.
- Website
- https://naed.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1908
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- NAED is a 115-year-old U.S. non-profit trade association serving electrical distributors through education and certification programs (EPEC, CEP, Leadership Development), proprietary benchmarking research (PAR Report, Economic Outlook), digital tools (X-Check cross-reference database), and supply-chain infrastructure initiatives like ProjectNexus.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NAED industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Trade Association Services
- NAICS
- Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (4251)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Electronic Parts & Equipment, Nec (5065)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Network Access Control (NAC) (HDADABAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) & On-Demand Connectivity (HDABALAE)
Keywords
Where NAED is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Louis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
NAED business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for electrical distributors providing access to benefits including education programs, research reports, networking events, benchmarking data, and member resources.
- PAR Report Sales: Annual financial benchmarking report sold to members and non-members. The 2026 PAR Report is priced at $879 for members and $2,699 for non-members. Provides benchmarks for key financial categories including financial ratios, employee productivity, inventory turns, and invoice lines.
- Economic & Industry Sector Outlook: Quarterly economic forecasting subscription covering overall economy, 8 industry sectors, and Construction Index across 102 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Sponsored free to members for 2026; annual subscription $850 for members, individual reports available.
- Education Programs: Revenue from EPEC (Electrical Products Education Course), CEP (Certified Electrical Professional), Leadership Development Program, and other training programs. Includes program enrollments, digital badges, and course materials.
- Events and Conferences: Registration fees for national meetings, regional conferences (Western, Eastern), Marketing Summit, Lead Conference, Women In Industry Forum, and other industry events.
- X-Check Program Licensing: Licensing of cross-reference and product relationship database to distributors integrated into their ERP and e-commerce systems through DATAgility partnership.
- Corporate Partner Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from corporate partners who support conferences, educational training programs, and initiatives. Partners include Hubbell and Schneider Electric who sponsor the Economic Outlook.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | PAR Report 2026 - Industry financial benchmarking report |
| Subscription | Annual | Economic & Industry Sector Outlook - Quarterly economic forecast |
| Subscription | One time | Connected Business Readiness Assessments |
| Subscription | Annual | Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Report 2026 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | NAED Store - Various products |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
NAED product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NAED is a non-profit trade association serving U.S. electrical distributors, providing industry-specific education programs (EPEC, CEP, Leadership Development), financial benchmarking reports (PAR Report, Economic & Industry Sector Outlook), a cross-reference product database (X-Check), digital transformation assessments, conferences, and advocacy. Revenue is generated through membership dues, report subscriptions, event registrations, corporate partner sponsorships, and licensing of proprietary data assets.
Product overview
NAED (National Association of Electrical Distributors) is a trade association offering a portfolio of products and services including data & intelligence reports (PAR Report, Economic & Industry Sector Outlook, Compensation Reports), education and certification programs (EPEC, CEP, Leadership Development, Green to Great Onboarding), digital tools (X-Check cross-reference database, Connected Business Assessment), and industry initiatives (Digital Center of Excellence, Futures Group, ProjectNexus supply chain visibility). The core offerings center on industry benchmarking, workforce development, and digital transformation support for electrical distributors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EPEC (Electrical Products Education Course): Cornerstone sales and product training program for the electrical distribution industry, celebrating 40 years of operation.
- CEP (Certified Electrical Professional)
- PAR Report
- Digital Center of Excellence (DCoE)
- Futures Group
- Leadership Development Program
- X-Check
- Economic & Industry Sector Outlook
Products and services
- X-Check Cross-Reference Database A cross-reference database with over 400,000 items from 700+ manufacturers, integrating with distributor ERP and e-commerce systems to surface substitute, accessory, and related products for electrical distributors.
- NAED PAR Report Annual financial benchmarking report providing industry comparative data on financial ratios, employee productivity, inventory turns, and invoice lines across distributor segments; over 35 years of publication history.
- Economic & Industry Sector Outlook Quarterly economic forecasting subscription covering the overall economy, 8 industry sectors, and a Construction Index across 102 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, targeted at electrical distributors.
- EPEC (Electrical Products Education Course) Industry-specific sales and product training program with Bronze, Silver, Gold, Automation, Datacom & Video, and Lighting levels; now available in modernized EPEC 2.0 online format, celebrating 40 years of operation.
- CEP (Certified Electrical Professional) Sales certification program with over 140 courses across 13 competency areas, building customer relationship, prospecting, negotiation, and closing skills for electrical distribution professionals.
- Leadership Development Program A 12-month curriculum designed for developing leaders in the electrical distribution industry with educational content, case studies, coaching, assessments, and personalized capstone projects.
- Connected Business Assessment Digital readiness assessment tool with Change Readiness and System Readiness components (100 questions each) plus executive summaries and strategic recommendations to help distributors evaluate their digital maturity.
- Building a Connected Business Digital transformation roadmap and framework helping companies prioritize, plan, and implement digital strategies, with 21 opportunity profiles for optimizing processes and powering growth.
- NAED 2026 Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Report Comprehensive benchmarking report across the wholesale distribution industry with Excel data tables, expanded geographic compensation benchmarking, metro-area reporting, and Branch Manager compensation reporting.
- NAED Conferences and Events National Meeting, Western/Eastern Region Conferences, Marketing Summit, Lead Conference, and Women In Industry Forum offering registration-based networking and education for electrical distribution professionals.
- Green to Great Onboarding Employee onboarding program designed to inspire confidence in new employees and improve their ability to succeed through a high-quality professional experience.
Quantifiable outcome
- 42,000+ EPEC graduates trained in electrical distribution sales and product knowledge over 40 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use NAED
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
NAED technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
NAED partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IDEA and Pull Logic Joint VenturecoreNAED Board authorized co-investment with IDEA and Pull Logic to develop 'ProjectNexus' ('Where's My Stuff?'), an industry-owned middleware solution for supply-chain visibility. The joint venture aims to replace manual tracking with system-to-system information sharing from manufacturers through distributors to contractor job sites. Collaboration involves NEMA, NECA, and NEMRA as 'The Alliance to Electrify America.'
- DATAgilitycoreExclusive implementation partner for X-Check cross-reference database program. DATAgility delivers quality data sourcing, enrichment services, analytics, data normalization, score-carding, and synchronization services. Works with common ERP and e-commerce platforms used in the industry to implement X-Check solutions in days.
- Corporate PartnerscoreCorporate Partners play integral role in NAED success supporting conferences, educational training programs, and initiatives. Partners receive visibility and access to NAED member network. Sponsorships from Hubbell and Schneider Electric make Economic Outlook free to members for 2026.
- HubbellcoreCorporate sponsor of Economic & Industry Sector Outlook making the quarterly report free to all NAED distributor members for 2026.
- Schneider ElectriccoreCorporate sponsor of Economic & Industry Sector Outlook making the quarterly report free to all NAED distributor members for 2026.
- EnableminorNAED Corporate Partner hosting webinars on rebate automation for electrical distributors. Enable provides rebate management automation solutions and partners with NAED for industry education.
- IDEA (Industry Data Exchange Association)coreStrategic partnership for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards and industry data exchange. IDEA provides whitepaper on eBusiness strategy for EDI operations and supports weatherproofing supply chains through EDI transactions.
- NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association)corePart of 'Alliance to Electrify America' collaborating on ProjectNexus supply chain visibility initiative alongside NECA and NEMRA.
- NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association)corePart of 'Alliance to Electrify America' collaborating on ProjectNexus supply chain visibility initiative alongside NEMA and NEMRA.
- NEMRA (National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association)corePart of 'Alliance to Electrify America' collaborating on ProjectNexus supply chain visibility initiative alongside NEMA and NECA.
- RepFilesminorNAED partnership providing rep firm resources and representation services to member distributors.
- Association Education Alliance (AEA)minorAEA presents webinars including cybersecurity training for NAED members such as 'Stop Today's Hackers' session by IT specialist Michael Foster.
- Frost & SullivanminorResearch firm that conducted the 2019 'Building a Connected Business' study that inspired NAED's digital transformation resources and Connected Business assessment program.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NAED competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association): NEMA represents electrical equipment manufacturers and partners with NAED on ProjectNexus and industry initiatives; structurally similar trade association on the upstream manufacturing side of NAED's channel.
- NEMRA (National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association): NEMRA represents independent manufacturers' reps in the electrical channel and is a strategic partner of NAED within the 'Alliance to Electrify America'; comparable member-based industry association model.
- HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International): HARDI is the analogous trade association for HVACR wholesalers, offering benchmarking, education, advocacy, and networking — structurally identical to NAED but focused on HVACR distribution.
- American Supply Association (ASA): ASA is the national trade association for plumbing, heating, cooling, and industrial PVF distributors; a near-clone of NAED's mission applied to the PHCP-PVF distribution channel.
- National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW): NAW is a trade association representing the broader wholesale distribution industry in the U.S., providing advocacy, education, and networking for member distributors — the closest analog to NAED at a broader industry scope.
- NAED-affiliated: Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA): PTDA is an association for power transmission/motion control distributors, applying the same trade-association model (membership, education, benchmarking, networking) to an adjacent industrial distribution segment.
- IDEA (Industry Data Exchange Association): IDEA sets EDI and data standards for the electrical and industrial distribution channel and co-owns ProjectNexus with NAED; it is a direct peer in industry data, standards, and supply-chain enablement.
Emerging players
- Affiliated Distributors (AD): AD is a member-owned marketing group for independent distributors across multiple trades including electrical; competes indirectly with NAED for distributor mindshare and serves a similar constituency with shared services and benchmarking.
- IMARK Group: IMARK is a member-owned marketing and services group for independent electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and industrial distributors; overlaps with NAED's distributor constituency by offering its own benchmarking, training, and peer networking.
Others
- NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association): NECA represents electrical contractors and is part of the 'Alliance to Electrify America' with NAED; adjacent rather than competing — together they span the distributor/contractor interface that ProjectNexus is built to serve.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NAED social profiles
Digital presenceNAED financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NAED leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
NAED funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NAED M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NAED
What does NAED do?
NAED is a non-profit trade association serving U.S. electrical distributors, providing industry-specific education programs (EPEC, CEP, Leadership Development), financial benchmarking reports (PAR Report, Economic & Industry Sector Outlook), a cross-reference product database (X-Check), digital transformation assessments, conferences, and advocacy. Revenue is generated through membership dues, report subscriptions, event registrations, corporate partner sponsorships, and licensing of proprietary data assets.
Is NAED a public or private company?
NAED is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was NAED founded?
NAED was founded in 1908. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is NAED based?
NAED is headquartered in Saint Louis, United States, in the North America region.
How does NAED make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are PAR Report Sales, economic & Industry Sector Outlook, education Programs, events and Conferences, X-Check Program Licensing and corporate Partner Sponsorships.
Who are NAED's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association), NEMRA (National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association), HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International), American Supply Association (ASA), National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), NAED-affiliated: Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) and IDEA (Industry Data Exchange Association). Emerging players are Affiliated Distributors (AD) and IMARK Group. NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association) is listed as an others.
Does NAED have an API?
No public API is recorded for NAED.
What industry is NAED in?
NAED's product category is Trade Association Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADABAJ, Network Access Control (NAC), with a secondary code of HDABALAE, Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) & On-Demand Connectivity. Its NAICS code is 4251 and its SIC code is 5065.