GWW vs ON Comparison

Founded in 1927, W.W. Grainger originally distributed various motors via a mail-order catalogue. Over the course of the 20th century, the firm expanded into new industrial product categories and launched its first digital catalogue in 1995. Today, the company organizes itself into two segments focused on different customer bases. Its larger segment, high-touch solutions, offers a vast array of maintenance, repair, and operations, or MRO, supplies and bespoke inventory management services to larger businesses. Its smaller segment, endless assortment, operates two online platforms, Zoro and MonotaRO, that offer comprehensive catalogues of MRO supplies to smaller businesses. Grainger has operations throughout the world but primarily generates sales within the US.

Onsemi is a supplier of power semiconductors and sensors focused on the automotive and industrial markets. Onsemi is the second-largest power chipmaker in the world and the largest supplier of image sensors to the automotive market. While the firm used to be highly vertically integrated, it now pursues a hybrid manufacturing strategy for flexible capacity. Onsemi is pivoting to focus on emerging applications like electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and renewable energy.