BDX vs FAST Comparison

Becton Dickinson is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of medical surgical products, such as needles, syringes, and sharps-disposal units. The company also manufactures prefilled devices, diagnostic instruments, and reagents, as well as flow cytometry and cell-imaging systems. BD Medical is nearly half of the total business, while BD Life Sciences (26% of 2024 revenue) and BD Interventional (25%) account for the remainder. International revenue accounts for 43% of the company's business.

Fastenal began as an industrial retailer, expanding its product portfolio from nuts and bolts to cutting tools, safety equipment, and janitorial supplies. It transitioned into a distributor by building out a dense network of branches close to its business customers. Once a customer becomes large enough, Fastenal installs vending machines and its own personnel on-site. Today, these on-site locations exceed Fastenal's branch count and remain the firm's main focus for expansion. Fastenal acts as a one-stop outsourcing partner for its industrial customers, offering value-added services along with a wide breadth of maintenance, repair, and operations supplies.