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GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Policy	Grainger tests reporting units’ goodwill and intangible assets for impairment annually during the fourth quarter and more frequently if impairment indicators exist. Accordingly, Grainger periodically performs qualitative assessments of significant events and circumstances such as reporting units' historical and current results, assumptions regarding future performance, strategic initiatives and overall economic factors to determine the existence of impairment indicators and assess if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than its carrying value and if a quantitative impairment test is necessary. In the quantitative test, Grainger compares the carrying value of the reporting unit or an indefinite-lived intangible asset with its fair value. Any excess of the carrying value over fair value is recorded as an impairment charge. The fair value of reporting units is calculated primarily using the discounted cash flow (DCF) method and utilizing value indicators from a market approach to evaluate the reasonableness of the resulting fair values. The DCF method incorporates various assumptions including the amount and timing of future expected cash flows, including revenues, gross margins, operating expenses, capital expenditures and working capital based on operational budgets, long-range strategic plans and other estimates. The terminal value growth rate is used to calculate the value of cash flows beyond the last projected period and reflects management’s best estimates for perpetual growth for the reporting units. Estimates of market-participant risk-adjusted weighted average cost of capital are used as a basis for determining the discount rates to apply to the reporting units’ future expected cash flows and terminal value. Grainger’s indefinite-lived intangibles are primarily trade names. The fair value of trade names is calculated primarily using the relief from royalty method, which estimates the expected royalty savings attributable to the ownership of the trade name asset. The key assumptions when valuing a trade name are the revenue base, the royalty rate and the discount rate.

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- References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for goodwill and intangible assets. This accounting policy also may address how an entity assesses and measures impairment of goodwill and intangible assets.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66006027&loc=d3e16265-109275

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68058157&loc=d3e18780-107790

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

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