Distributive Trades Benchmark Report
Discover how small distributive trade businesses are performing today, and how they’re responding to common day-to-day challenges
The UK Distributive Trades Benchmark Report is based on research with small merchants across the UK, all facing similar challenges around stock, pricing, deliveries, and customer service.
It shows what’s working, where extra effort is creeping in, and how businesses are coping when systems no longer quite keep up.
Inside the report, you’ll learn:
- How many businesses still rely on spreadsheets and manual checks to keep things running
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Where stock, pricing, and delivery issues usually start, and why they keep coming back
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How disconnected systems create extra work for sales, warehouse, and accounts teams
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Why warehouse and delivery problems often turn into invoice queries and customer complaints
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How much day-to-day knowledge lives in people’s heads rather than in systems
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Where your business sits on the benchmark model, and what “set up to grow” really looks like
Use the benchmark to compare your day-to-day experience with businesses like yours, spot where time and effort are being wasted, and see where it makes sense to invest as you grow.
Download the Distributive Trades Benchmark Report.
Methodology
The Klipboard Rental Benchmark survey was conducted by Censuswide between 18 and 24 September 2025. It included responses from 217 decision-makers in small, medium, large, and enterprise companies that provide rental equipment across the UK and Ireland. Respondents represented a broad mix of roles, including CEO, Managing Director or Owner, Head of Operations, Hire Manager, IT Director, Finance Director, COO, Rental Operations Manager, and Digital Transformation Officer. Findings are based on self-reported data, aggregated and analysed to provide Klipboard’s first UK-specific benchmark of rental industry performance.
