MidwayUSA

MidwayUSA is an Internet retailer offering “Just About Everything”®

for shooting, hunting, and the outdoors. It is a world leader in its 

market sector, offering more than 110,000 products from more than 

800 suppliers to 1.2 million active customers. With gross sales in 

excess of $350 million, MidwayUSA employs more than 350 at its 

facility in Columbia, Mo. Many in the company’s workforce have a 

deep passion for shooting, hunting, and outdoor sports, which allows 

them to use personal knowledge and insight to better serve their 

customers. Since first adopting the Baldrige Criteria for Performance 

Excellence in 2006, MidwayUSA has pursued its vision to be 

“the best-run, most respected business in America, for the benefit of 

our Customers.”

This is the second Baldrige Award for MidwayUSA as the company 

was honored in the same category in 2009.

Success by Putting Customers First

• As a result of MidwayUSA’s focus on their number one operational 

goal, customer satisfaction, and the integration of customer 

satisfaction data into MidwayUSA’s Performance Improvement 

System, customer approval ratings have topped 90 percent since 

2006, and have exceeded the performance of its primary Internet 

retailing competitor for the past two years.

• MidwayUSA seeks immediate and actionable customer feedback 

whether a purchase was made or not. Customers who make 

purchases are surveyed at each phase of the transaction, including 

extensively following fulfillment of the order. Approximately 

15,000 surveys from non-buyers add to the company’s 

understanding of customer needs, desires, and preferences.

• For the period 2013-2014, Midway’s customer retention rate of 

23 percent better than the national benchmark for Internet retailers.

People at the Heart of a Great Business

• Making good on its promise to “learn what is important to our 

Employees and work on improving Employee satisfaction 

every day,” MidwayUSA’s improved its employee satisfaction and 

engagement rate from 76 percent in 2004 to 83 percent in 2015. 

Behind this dramatic rise is a process for employees to identify their 

key satisfaction requirements, prioritize and weigh the importance 

of each requirement, and assist in the achievement of meeting 

those requirements.

• To identify future leaders, MidwayUSA uses the Leadership 

Development Candidate (LDC) process. Leadership development 

includes mentoring, Missouri Quality Award examiner training, 

process effectiveness audit participation, and invitations to 

2015 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• As a result of MidwayUSA’s focus on their number one 

operational goal, customer satisfaction, and the integration 

of customer satisfaction data into MidwayUSA’s Performance 

Improvement System, customer approval ratings have topped 

90 percent since 2006, and have exceeded the performance 

of its primary Internet retailing competitor for the past 

two years.

• Since 2004, MidwayUSA has sustained a 43.8 percent 

average annual growth rate in net income and a 21.3 percent 

average annual growth rate in gross sales, making it one of 

the fastest-growing companies in its industry.

• MidwayUSA improved its employee satisfaction and 

engagement rate from 76 percent in 2004 to 83 percent 

in 2015.

• MidwayUSA is a community leader in waste recovery and 

resource management, recycling paper, plastic, cardboard,

pallets, and metal. In 2008, the company replaced Styrofoam 

packing peanuts with inflatable air pillows made of recycled 

plastic. MidwayUSA is virtually paperless; most marketing 

and business transactions are done electronically and no 

“snail mail” orders are accepted.
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

2015 Award Recipient

MidwayUSA

strategic planning meetings. Thirty-eight percent of the salaried 

workforce participates in the LDC, resulting in more than 

80 percent of management positions being filled annually since 

2013 from within the company. Additionally, detailed departmentand job-specific training and certification are integrated with 

defined career paths for workforce development.

• MidwayUSA’s Leadership System guides all parts of the organization. 

The board of directors and senior management set the overall 

direction, including the mission, vision, values, and performance 

expectations, and then cascade them through all departments. 

Front-line employees are able to state MidwayUSA’s mission, 

vision, and values, including how the values impacted their 

decisions to seek employment with the company.

Excellence Leads to Financial Reward

• MidwayUSA’s strong focuses on customer, employee, and supplier 

satisfaction have yielded an equally strong return in financial 

success. Over the past 11 years, the company has been one of 

the fastest growing in its industry, sustaining a 43.8 percent average 

annual growth rate in net income and a 21.3 percent average 

annual growth rate in gross sales. These dramatically exceed the 

national benchmarks of 4 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.

• Return on assets has averaged 80 percent for the past five years, a 

rate significantly better than the 20 percent benchmark of the 

Risk Management Association (RMA, a national association that 

helps members identify and manage risk).

Efficient Processes = Proven Results

• A fully integrated, seven-step strategy development process sets 

the direction for MidwayUSA’s high performance, sustainability, and 

focus on success. The process begins with a review of performance 

results and an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities 

and threats. Results are used to develop strategic objectives and the 

operational goals that define success for MidwayUSA. The budget 

and workforce planning processes are integrated with strategic 

planning to ensure that resources are available to implement 

action plans. 

• Employees are encouraged to submit innovative ideas for 

improvement through process reviews, State of the Business 

meetings, departmental Baldrige meetings, employee roundtables, 

and one-page summaries of improvements to the appropriate 

vice president. 

• Highly effective supply chain management has resulted in a nearly 

83 percent in-stock product rate, which is difficult to achieve in 

MidwayUSA’s industry. It has also resulted in an increase in 

inventory turns (the number of times inventory is “turned over” as 

measured by the cost of goods sold divided by the average 

inventory) from 5.2 in 2004 to 7.8 in 2015. 

• The satisfaction rate for MidwayUSA suppliers and partners has 

been at or near 94 percent each year from 2008 to 2015, a rate 

better than the 84 percent achieved by the company’s number one 

industry competitor.

Caring for Neighbors and Nature

• The management and employees of MidwayUSA care deeply 

about the community in which they work and live. MidwayUSA 

contributes to charitable organizations (donating $100 million since 

2008), conducts blood drives, works with key conservation groups 

to preserve game and land resources, and supports education and 

training in the areas of shooting, hunting, firearms safety, and 

outdoor skills. In 2012, the company started the Youth Wildlife 

Conservation Experience, which helps local children attend 

national conventions to learn about conservation and 

environmental management. 

• MidwayUSA is a community leader in waste recovery and resource 

management, recycling paper, plastic, cardboard, pallets, and 

metal. In 2008, the company replaced Styrofoam packing peanuts 

with inflatable air pillows made of recycled plastic. MidwayUSA 

is virtually paperless; most marketing and business transactions are 

done electronically and no “snail mail” orders are accepted.

For more information:

MidwayUSA 

5875 W. Van Horn Tavern Rd.

Columbia, MO 65203

(573) 445-6363 x4110

qms@midwayusa.com

www.midwayusa.com

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, and 

help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels. We are 

the only public-private partnership and Presidential award program 

dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on Baldrige, visit www.nist.gov/baldrige, 

call (301) 975-2036, or e-mail us at baldrige@nist.gov.