Purchasing Resources for Industrial Goods

Industrial goods are used by manufacturers to make other products. You can think of them as the raw materials your business uses to produce its inventory. Industrial goods consist of many other items beyond raw materials, however.

Industrial goods fall into five categories: major capital items, accessory equipment, raw materials, fabricated parts, and supplies. Industrial suppliers can deal in one or all of these categories. Major capital items include installations that enable your business to manufacture goods. Examples are conveyor belt systems and installations of commercial ovens.

Accessories are capital items that are not permanently installed, such as computer equipment and forklifts. The raw materials category can include anything that is used to produce a product and typically needs processing. Examples include iron ore, timber, and leather. Fabricated parts are finished components. These components are used as they are to help complete other products. Batteries are an example of a fabricated part. This category also has a subcategory of materials that require light processing before they can be used in a consumer product. An example of a fabricated material is the fabric used to cover seats in cars.

Industrial supplies is an industrial goods category that includes items that are used indirectly to manufacture other products, such as office supplies. Read more about industrial goods from the links on this Business.com page.