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Company Spotlight: Mars Supply

At Dispatch, we love to learn more about our customers and the story behind their business. In this Company Spotlight, we connected with Anna of Mars Supply — a fifth-generation Mars member, proving that the success of this business is all in the family. Read on to learn more about the Minnesota staff, culture, and core values.

Kelsie McMahon

September 24, 2019

At Dispatch, we love to learn more about our customers and the story behind their business. In this Company Spotlight, we connected with Anna of Mars Supply — a fifth-generation Mars member, proving that the success of this business is all in the family. Read on to learn more about the Minnesota staff, culture, and core values.

Tell us about Mars Supply. What is it that your company does?

We are an industrial supply distributor. We stock everything from safety supplies, to cutting tools, grinding wheels, drills, and everything in between. If we don’t have something in stock, our knowledgeable staff will always find it. Our main job is to take great care of our customers and make their lives easier and their company profitable.

How did Mars Supply get started and when?

Mars was founded in 1924 by a father-son duo as the W.P. & R.S. Mars Company. Its mission at the time was to service the emerging iron mining and timber industries (on horseback!) in Northern Minnesota. Bill and Bob Mars Sr. built the company around the philosophy of “finding solutions” and adding a “personal touch.” In 2017 we rebranded as Mars Supply. Even though the name changed, and the market served and customer base has expanded, the same business philosophy still holds true today!

Who does your staff consist of? 

We have 100 incredible employees! From our accounting department to our warehouse staff, everyone is aligned with the same focus — taking great care of our customers! We really do have a great team.

What is the culture of Mars Supply like? 

We live and work off of our core values — Trust, Excellence, Resourcefulness, Teamwork, and Respect. We find these really important and it shows. Since it is a family business, we treat everyone like we are all one big, happy family. We have a lot of fun and laugh a lot. Work hard, play hard!

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What makes Mars Supply unique, especially for your area?

We are unique because we offer a lot of different products with incredibly knowledgeable staff to back it up. We have application experts, safety experts, and a well-trained group of inside and outside salespeople who have a “yes I can” attitude. We are also unique because in this dog-eat-dog world, we are kind and warm people who are willing to do anything to take care of our internal and external customers. You don’t find that everywhere!

What is the long-term goal for Mars Supply?

Our long-term goal is to grow our customer base and help our customers grow their businesses as well!

How did you get started at Mars Supply? 

W.P. and R.S are my Great-Great-Grandpa and my Great-Grandpa. I am the fifth generation here at Mars along with my husband and my brother-in-law. My Dad, Bob Mars III, is the president of the company. He is one of the best parts about working here! Any employee would tell you he’s a great boss and an incredible human. They say things start at the top and he and my Grandpa (Bob Mars Jr., now deceased) are the reason Mars has such great employees and an honest, kind, hardworking culture.

How did you hear about Dispatch?

I think the incredible Ryan from your company walked in one day to introduce us to the new courier service in town. He was so likeable we kept accepting his meeting invitations and the rest was history. We changed all of our courier business to Dispatch (we do up to 400 deliveries a week) and have loved the service we get. We love our drivers and treat them like family and vice versa.

What was your process for sending and receiving inventory prior to Dispatch?

We used Priority and Elite and won’t ever go back.

Any special instance where Dispatch came through in a pinch or went above and beyond what you expected?

We have the same four delivery drivers each day that service our customers out of our Bloomington and Minneapolis locations. Shout out to Tony, Pete, Dave, and Mike! You guys ROCK!

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