MRO

Definition

Maintenance, repair and operations: the parts, tools and services that keep a plant running.

Why It Matters

The word describes a spending category and not a product family, and that is exactly why the revenue repeats. MRO spend follows machine hours, so it survives a customer's capital freeze and dies with a plant closure. Reading a distributor's book through this lens tells you which risk you are taking: a house selling into ten running plants is stable, and a house selling into one is a bet on one company's operating decisions. Ask for revenue by plant and for how long each relationship has run.