FAST vs MDLN Comparison

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.

Medline is the largest medical-surgical products and supply chain solutions provider in the US. The company generates over 90% of its revenue domestically and serves some of the largest US health systems. Medline offers approximately 190,000 Medline-branded products across more than 250 product families—including front line care, surgical solutions, and laboratory and diagnostics—as well as roughly 150,000 third-party products sourced from over 1,250 vendors. The company maintains prime vendor relationships with many customers, acting as the primary consolidated logistics partner for their medical-surgical needs. Medline has significant scale, supported by more than 30 manufacturing facilities and a fleet of over 2,000 owned delivery trucks. Medline went public in December 2025.