What Do You Look For In A Supplier?

mawe54180

I run a smaller what I will call a lumberyard that caters to deck and fence builders, as well as the DIYers. Like almost everyone we are trying to increase business. We don't always have the lowest prices, but we make up for it in other ways. We generate leads through our advertising, free delivery, design help, custom fabrication (we fabricate vinyl fence), on site Q&A, contractors send their customers to my showroom to look at different materials, drawings, layout help, heck I have even helped dig holes.
What I am asking is what do you look for in a suplier? I compete with the big local lumber yards as well as LOw & HD. Are you always looking for the lowest prices? Are you willing to pay more for service? What type of service are you willing to pay for? Thanks for the help.
Mark

rbsremodeling

Big TaTA's ??

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genecarp

a little ass kissin now and then

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redwood

I regularly use about 6 suppliers. They all have their pro's and con's.

I prefer the yard that has everything that I need to complete a project. But they still need to be competitive, price wize, on the main component of the project. Usually decking.

I use other yards based upon location to my projects.

I don't need design help. Free delivery is offered by all, based upon a minimum order.

The yards I use, must have contractor accounts. There is a very good local supplier that really caters to deck and fence projects. They have great displays and are very helpful. Their prices are competitive. I don't use them. Why, because they do not have accounts.

Mark

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com

Bone Saw

i like a one stop shop, If you have everything, but dont have crete, we ain't doing buisness, seems like alot of deck speciality lumberyards are popping up here and there, they have all things decking and railing, then fall short on lumber and fasteners and crete. Another is I don't mind getting on a first name basis with my supplier, and I value the service, and don't mind paying alittle more, and wont nickle and dime and compare quotes, but I'm not going to pay $10-15/board more for the same item than 5 other places when it comes out to $2000 difference
Moffat trux a must, not humping 10 tons of stuff from front to back,
quotes need to match line for line to take off's, if sales guy starts consolidating line items of the same item from take off to faxed quote, it goes into the shredder. hope this helps
possibly having an auger crew and offering hole service would be a nice service to set you apart from the pack

DavidC

We have 7 or 8 local lumber yards along with Blowes and Home Despot in our county. Over the years I have dealt with all of them from time to time and like/dislike all of them for different things.

I have settled on a particular outside sales rep that takes care of us like we want and mostly shop where he is working. I've dealt with him at 3 different yards and he currently works at the one farthest from me. A phone call is all it takes most of the time, a truck brings it to our jobsite or shop. I've been in the store maybe a dozen times in 3 years.

We don't shop for prices. We work up a materials list and fax it, he'll fax back a quote and we try to sell the job. If he moves to another yard we will probably shop there.

Good Luck
Dave

pruane

Free pencils!!! Must give free pencils and a shirt now and then.

neolitic

People who know their products.
People who won't blow smoke up
my ass when they don't
know their product.
Yards that won't send me their
"bone pile" crap.
Or lumber that's been run over
by a truck
Or gashed by drunken
fork lift operators.
I'm paying for it...let me
screw it up!


....and pencils

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redwood

Yeah, I forgot about the pencils.

I haven't gotten a new shirt in quite a while.

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com

BreyerConstruct

I don't care about the shirts, I want my guys wearing MY shirts!


Pencils are nice...

Knowledgeable help is huge, as is quality product, and Moffit delivery available.

A big thing for me this year? I'm forgoing the line-by-line comparison & price shopping (& I've told my suppliers this), I want their co-op, or at least a shot at some of it, depending on my purchases.

I don't care about 84 Lumber's free camera if I spend 100k, I want legitit help in building my business, so I can spend more $$ there in the future.

If I want goodies, I'll save up & buy them.

.02
~Matt

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kylemfk

Oh you guys and the pencils.. Its funny my company (supplier) is taking about 100 customers and there wives to dinner over the next two weeks. We voted on the idea back in December, I voted no. (the votes didnt count). At the time I said that I would rather have 10,000 pencils and a few boxes of shirts to give out. I see contractors all day every day, 90% ask for pencils or shirts, nobody requests dinner for himself and the wife.

wizendwizard

Dinner is a one shot deal, Pencils last at least a whole day.

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BuiltByMAC

you get your stuff delivered to the back of the house? Alright, I'll roll out a smiley for that!

And like the others - hell yeah on the pencils! Truss company here doles out fatty round ones...just to be different! They all write the same and it sure is nice getting a handful. Few things chafe my ass more than finding myself in the hardware store getting stuff and having to buy a handful of pencils 'cause I'm out!

I'm in an agreeable mood tonight - I'm with Redwood on the contractor accounts too.

I also like being recognized - if I'm in there spending lots of money, you can know me.

Treat us fairly and professionally, cater to the things that make running our business easier and have a fair (not necessarily always the lowest) price on items and you're on the right path...

Mac

mawe54180

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think we are on the right track. I do my fair share of a$$ kissin. I don't blow smoke or tell you or your customers what you want to hear if it's not right I tell you. I also have a box of pencils and shirts in my truck always. Just like Matt I want guys wearing my shirts (at least some of the guys on the crew). We do not have a Moffat, but if you help we will carry the material wherever you need it. We are just now staring to carry crete. I haven't in the past because one of the local big box was selling it so cheap that contractors were willing to drive there just for the crete. They are now finding out that it's crap. That why it is cheap. They used to say "what can the difference be? crete is crete". Now they know. I operate on the theory that we all need to make money. I am not the cheapest supplier around, nor should you be the cheapest contractor. Everyone can make a decent living. Matt brought up an interesting point with the co-op. We have a rebate program where the rebate percentage goes up with the more you buy. We hand out checks in Dec. as long as your account is up to date. The statement " I want legit help building my business" really caught my eye. I have been thinking of jobsite signs that say someting on the order of "Another quality project by Matt's Deck Building materials supplied by Mark". We would buy the sign or at least pay the majority if guys would put them up at their sites. The more you guys sell the more I sell. Any other ideas on how your supplier can help build your business? Who knows maybe your supplier is reading this. Thanks again for the input.
Mark

Greg Di

You know what I like?

The fact that you are posting here asking how to help us. That goes a long way.

You know what else I like?

Hole digging service. If I knew I could make one phone call and have all the holes dug for deck done for $x per hole everytime, you would be an all-star.

The easy part for you is that all you'd need is unskilled labor. You already have a yard full of it out back. You steal a guy from pulling orders out back and drop him off to dig holes and it's a win-win. Our problem is that the skilled labor we have (or are) doesn't want to dig holes and we have no use for unskilled labor 95% of the time so it's a stumbling block for guys like me.

Great concept.

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mawe54180

Hole digging service is an interesting thought. Most of the contractors I sell to have a skidsteer or a dingo type of machine. There was a company in my area that just dug holes, but then he got greedy and started installing. Everyone thinks the other guy is getting rich. Now his hole digging business is drying up. People don't like doing business with their competition. But if I offered the service it might work. I will look into that further. Thanks for the idea.
Mark

Bone Saw

If you got a moffat, you could easily throw an auger on and that would be a huge selling point to the guys w/o dingo's

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