Mid States Distributing

What Mid States Distributing does

Mid-States Distributing LLC is a private purchasing cooperative founded in 1953 (reincorporated under its current name in 1954) that serves as a centralized buying, distribution, and services platform for 33-38 independent member companies operating approximately 700-800 farm, ranch, and home retail stores across the United States and Canada. The cooperative negotiates with over 3,000 suppliers on behalf of its members and physically aggregates inventory through a million-plus square foot warehouse in Lee's Summit, Missouri, with corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

The company monetizes through a mix of supplier negotiation leverage, distribution margins from its central warehouse, private label/brand licensing income, central billing services, and member fees. Beyond core buying and distribution, it provides an expanded services stack including private brand development, legal services, training programs, a learning management system, weather trend analysis, consulting, marketing support, trade show and event management (most prominently The Rendezvous), and supplier program management. Members access these capabilities through an online portal (portal.msdist.com) backed by an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system provided by York. The cooperative works with major consumer and industrial brands including Levi, Wrangler, DeWalt, Honda, Ariat, Husqvarna, Stihl, Winchester, and Carhart.

Top-line financials are not disclosed, but the cooperative's member companies generate combined annual retail sales of more than $7 billion and collectively employ over 30,000 people. Mid-States is itself a private LLC structure (DBA 'Mid-States Dist LLC'), with no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity on record — functioning as a member-owned operating cooperative rather than a venture-backed or public entity.

Name

Mid States Distributing

Legal name

Mid-States Distributing LLC

Website

https://msdist.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Mid-States Distributing is a private purchasing cooperative that negotiates with 3,000+ suppliers and runs centralized warehousing for 33-38 independent farm, ranch, and home retail chains across the US and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Distribution Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade (42), Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (424)

SIC

Wholesale-Misc Durable Goods (5090), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Agrochemical & Fertilizer Wholesale Distribution (AFABAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Distribution Centers (Store Replenishment DCs) (TLALAEAA), Regional Hub / National Hub Distribution Centers (Multi-node Network Hubs) (TLALAEAN)

Keywords

• Purchasing cooperative services
• Farm ranch retail distribution
• Supplier negotiation services
• Wholesale distribution services
• Private label development

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cooperative Member Services: Mid-States operates as a purchasing cooperative owned and operated exclusively for its members. The cooperative generates revenue through member fees and margins on product distribution services provided to member companies.
2. Distribution Services: Revenue generated through centralized warehousing and distribution of products from over 3000 suppliers to member retail locations
3. Supplier Negotiations & Program Management: Centralized supplier negotiation services for members, including supplier program management
4. Private Label Development: Development and management of private label brands for member companies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mid-States Distributing is a private purchasing cooperative that negotiates with 3,000+ suppliers on behalf of its 33–38 member companies, which collectively operate roughly 700–800 independent farm, ranch, and home retail locations. It provides centralized services including supplier negotiations, distribution through a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Lee's Summit, Missouri, private label product development (Outfitters Brand), central billing, member marketing support, training, trade shows, and back-office programs (legal, banking, insurance). These offerings are accessed exclusively by member businesses in the United States and Canada.

Product overview

Mid-States Distributing is a purchasing cooperative that provides a comprehensive suite of centralized services to its member companies in the farm, ranch, and home retail channel. Rather than offering a single unified product, the cooperative operates as a service platform offering multiple interconnected services including supplier negotiations (with over 3,000 suppliers), product distribution through a million square foot warehouse, private brand development, central billing, legal support, training programs, learning management systems, weather trend analysis, trade show and event management, marketing support, consulting services, and supplier program management. Members access these services through the Member Portal. The cooperative serves 33-38 member companies operating approximately 700-800 retail locations across the US and Canada, generating over $6.5-7 billion in annual sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supplier Negotiation and Buying Services Centralized negotiation with 3,000+ suppliers on pricing, terms, and product assortments on behalf of 33–38 member retail companies operating 700–800 farm, ranch, and home retail locations in the U.S. and Canada.
• Centralized Distribution and Warehousing Storage, pick-pack, and direct shipment of supplier and private-label goods from a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Lee's Summit, Missouri, to member retail locations across the U.S. and Canada.
• Outfitters Brand Private Label Program Private label product development and sourcing under the cooperative's brand, providing independent member retailers exclusive assortments to differentiate from national competitors.
• Member Portal and EDI Ordering Online Member Portal integrated with EDI powered by York, enabling electronic purchase orders, account management, and centralized billing for member companies.
• Trade Shows and Member Events Annual trade shows and member events where suppliers showcase products and members conduct buying, training, and peer networking across the U.S. and Canada.
• Member Marketing and Store Support Cooperative-provided marketing assets, store-level promotions, and operational support resources for independent farm, ranch, and home retail members.
• Member Training and Conferences Cooperative-organized training programs and conferences for member retailer staff covering product knowledge, operations, and management capabilities.
• Central Billing and Back-Office Programs Consolidated invoicing and back-office program access (legal, banking, and insurance resources) negotiated and managed by the cooperative for its member companies.

Named customers29 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• York (EDI Provider)coreTechnology or IntegrationYork provides Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technology powering Mid-States' business transactions with suppliers and member companies through their portal.
• LevimajorOthersTop consumer brands including Levi distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• WranglermajorOthersTop consumer brands including Wrangler distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• DeWaltmajorOthersTop consumer brands including DeWalt distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• HondamajorOthersTop consumer brands including Honda distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• AriatmajorOthersTop consumer brands including Ariat distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• HusqvarnamajorOthersTop consumer brands including Husqvarna distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• StihlmajorOthersTop consumer brands including Stihl distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• WinchestermajorOthersTop consumer brands including Winchester distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.
• CarhartmajorOthersTop consumer brands including Carhart distributed through member retail locations via Mid-States supplier negotiation and distribution services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Tractor Supply Company: Tractor Supply is the largest U.S. farm and ranch retail chain, directly competing for the same rural end customer that Mid-States' member retailers serve. While not a cooperative, it is the most prominent large-format competitor in the farm/ranch/home retail channel that Mid-States serves.
• Rural King: Rural King is a privately held farm and home retail chain operating roughly 130+ stores across the U.S. Midwest and South. It competes head-to-head with Mid-States' member retailers for the rural farm, ranch, and home customer.

Others

• FleetPride: FleetPride is the largest U.S. distributor of heavy-duty truck and fleet parts, serving fleet operators and agricultural customers with related supplies. Adjacent in distribution to the farm/ranch/petroleum category and may overlap with member demand for fleet parts and petroleum products.

Broad incumbents

• Grainger: Grainger is a large public industrial/MRO distributor serving businesses across North America with broad product lines including farm, ranch, and maintenance supplies. Comparable in distribution scale and breadth but serves B2B end users via catalog rather than through a member-retailer co-op.
• HD Supply (Home Depot Pro): HD Supply, now operating as Home Depot Pro, is one of the largest wholesale distributors of maintenance, repair, and operations products including farm/ranch/facility categories. Comparable in scale and breadth of product distribution but operates as a public company rather than a purchasing cooperative.
• McMaster-Carr: McMaster-Carr is a large industrial and hardware supply distributor with one of the broadest product catalogs in the U.S. Comparable in its B2B wholesale distribution of tools, hardware, and farm/ranch-relevant supplies, but with a direct-ship model rather than a member co-op.

Direct peers

• Do it Best Corp. Do it Best is a member-owned hardware/home center cooperative that provides wholesale distribution, supplier negotiations, and support services to thousands of independent retailers. Highly comparable to Mid-States in business model and central services, overlapping in the farm/home and small-format retail segments.
• Orgill Inc. Orgill is a hardlines wholesale distributor supplying independent hardware, farm, ranch, and home retailers across North America through central warehouses and supplier programs. Closely matches Mid-States' distribution, supplier negotiation, and farm/ranch/home retailer customer focus.
• Ace Hardware Corporation: Ace Hardware is one of the largest hardware/home cooperatives globally, supplying independent retailers through a centralized distribution network and supplier programs. Operationally similar to Mid-States, though it focuses on hardware/home rather than farm/ranch/home.
• True Value Company: True Value is a hardware/home improvement purchasing cooperative serving thousands of independent retailers worldwide, using the same member-owned, centralized supplier-negotiation and distribution model as Mid-States. It is the closest architectural analog, but operating in the hardware channel rather than farm/ranch/home.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mid States Distributing