CHICAGO - Grainger, a leading distributor of facilities maintenance supplies, has announced new capabilities to help customers comply with the complex reporting requirements associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also referred to as stimulus spending or stimulus funds. The new capabilities help customers track their stimulus spending on maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) products with Grainger whether they order in person at a branch, via phone, or online.

“Our customers told us they needed help in navigating the compliance of ARRA related spending and we have enhanced our systems and added new tools to make it easier to track their spending and comply with the requirements,” said Paul Kindzierski, vice president, Grainger Industrial Supply Sales. “As their MRO supply partner, we are stocking the products they need for related projects so they can consolidate purchases with Grainger, saving their organization time and money and allowing them to focus their resources on their core business.”

Grainger said it is helping customers with ARRA compliance in a variety of ways. When calling into a branch, once a customer identifies an order is being placed with stimulus money, the Grainger customer service representative flags that order as an ARRA-related order. Similarly, when placing an online order, once a customer clicks the ARRA box, the order is flagged and at their request, Grainger can provide a report that shows their consolidated ARRA purchases. This tool can be used to help customers as they comply with ARRA transparency and accountability requirements.

Another requirement that can challenge customers spending ARRA funds is compliance with the Buy American Act (BAA) obligations. Grainger makes this easier for customers by providing them with country of origin information.

Grainger said that with its broad line of more than 400,000 products (more than 180,000 made in the U.S.), customers can consolidate their purchases with Grainger to make meeting the reporting requirements easier to manage.

For more information on its new ARRA assistance program, visit www.grainger.com/stimulus.

Publication date:12/14/2009