This is some text inside of a div block.
How Networks X helped a strategy consulting client investigate retailer access, supplier onboarding and route-to-market strength during commercial due diligence.
Australia’s tools and consumables market spans large-format hardware retailers, specialist trade chains and independent stores. For manufacturers and distributors, product quality is only part of the commercial equation. Brands must also secure ranging, maintain availability and support retailers with pricing, promotions and dependable service.
In this market, national distribution can be as commercially important as the product itself.
The scale of the leading channel makes those decisions important. Wesfarmers reported Bunnings sales of A$19.6 billion in FY2025, alongside investment in a new tool-shop format across 175 stores.
A strategy consulting firm engaged Networks X during commercial due diligence on an undisclosed Australian manufacturer and distributor. The research covered power tool accessories, hand and cutting tools, sockets and abrasives.
The central question extended beyond product performance. The client needed to understand how suppliers gained access to major retailers, what influenced stocking decisions and whether commercial relationships could create a defensible route-to-market advantage.
Winning shelf space involves several decisions that are difficult to assess from outside the market.
Retailers must decide whether a new supplier improves the category, fills a product gap or offers enough customer demand to justify limited shelf space. They may also consider pricing, margins, reliability, inventory support, promotional funding and the supplier’s ability to service a national store network.
The diligence examined how onboarding worked for new brands, whether decisions were managed centrally or locally and what allowed emerging suppliers to gain share.
Customer segmentation also mattered. Professional tradespeople may place greater weight on durability, availability and product performance, while DIY customers can be more influenced by price, brand recognition or ease of use.
The client also wanted to understand whether routes to market differed between major corporate retailers and smaller independent stores.
These questions helped test whether distribution strength came from durable capabilities and relationships or from advantages that competitors could reproduce relatively easily.
The project was not limited to a sequence of hour-long interviews. Networks X supported the client through both live consultations and structured written contributions.
Each format served a different purpose. Live calls were suited to exploratory research, allowing the client to challenge assumptions, ask follow-up questions and move between related topics such as retailer negotiations, category strategy and competitive positioning.
Written work was used when the client had narrower questions that could be answered directly and compared more easily. It also allowed relevant professionals to provide additional detail after an initial discussion without requiring another full consultation.
The written contributions were therefore not a substitute for expert calls. They extended the value of the live research as the diligence moved from broad market understanding towards more specific commercial questions.
This gave the client flexibility to choose the format that best suited each stage of the project, while Networks X coordinated the screening, scheduling and delivery through a single research workflow.
Networks X submitted the first relevant profile within 21 minutes of project launch and submitted 14 profiles across the engagement.
The client completed eight live consultations and four written engagements, creating 12 interactions across six unique experts. Four experts contributed through both formats.
The eight calls represented 57% of the 14 consultations completed across the client’s expert-network providers. This created strong coverage within the project. Networks X also delivered the only four written contributions recorded within the project.
The research gave the client direct market context on supplier onboarding, retailer expectations, stocking decisions, promotional activity and differences between major retail and independent channels.
It also helped examine whether supplier support, account coverage and commercial execution reinforced the product proposition or whether distribution depended mainly on price and promotions.
Networks X delivered 57% of the client’s completed expert calls and four written engagements, supporting a detailed assessment of retailer access and distribution strength.
For tools and consumables manufacturers, growth does not depend solely on developing a competitive product.
Suppliers must convince retailers to range the product, maintain stock, support promotions and provide enough account coverage to protect their position. The quality of these capabilities can affect how quickly a brand expands and how difficult its distribution is for competitors to replicate.
Commercial diligence should therefore test more than market size and product differentiation. It should examine how the company wins customers, how retail relationships are managed and what keeps its products on the shelf.
For this project, Networks X connected the client with professionals familiar with those decisions and delivered 12 expert engagements across live and written formats.
The result was primary research focused on one of the most important questions behind the investment: whether the target’s route-to-market position represented a durable commercial advantage.
Networks X supports private equity firms, consulting teams and corporates across specialist markets worldwide. Testing the commercial strength of a business? Submit a brief and receive project-specific expert profiles within days, with no retainer or minimum commitment.