"Having products in stock," which at 71% got the highest percentage of 9s and 10s in 2004, dropped to 66% this time. Interviews with remodelers and other responses to the survey suggest that remodelers are willing to wait for a product so long as it's delivered when promised.
"Don't tell me what I want to hear. Tell me the truth and don't tell me lies," says Bill Medina, president of Medina Construction in Salina, Kan. "I tell all of my subs that when lies are told, we all look stupid," especially in front of the customer.
With sales projected at $4.4 million in 2007, up from $4.1 million a year ago, Medina Construction maintains a vendor list of roughly 200 companies. But its principal supplier remains Star Lumber & Supply, the Wichita, Kan.-based dealer with locations in Hutchison and Salina. Medina favors Star because of its excellent record of timely deliveries, along with a local rep who stands by his word and can be reached when problems arise. "We want to know our rep lives here, and pays taxes here, and knows his customers," Medina says.
Delivering the Goods
In general, while the remodelers surveyed in 2007 are happier with their local lumberyards than the 2004 survey's respondents were (See table, this page), they did see room for improvement. Three years ago, pricing was No. 1 on the wish list, cited by 49% of those surveyed. Today, price was mentioned only 31% of the time–still a lot, but just shy of shorter lead times, cited by 32% of the respondents, up from 25% in 2004. (See table, page 60.)
Pricing's drop-off may reflect how, with the market slump, prices on commodities and some materials have fallen from where they were three years ago. But there's no willingness by remodelers to trade a lower price for poor service.
"Time is money. If someone is going to say it will take a week and it takes three weeks, that's going to kill us," Medina says.
Typically, Medina Construction orders products at least a week in advance. The company also holds weekly planning meetings, where it discusses the 15 to 20 jobs it handles each month with work orders ranging as high as $600,000. Although the bulk of the company's revenue derives from commercial projects, Medina completes more residential projects per year, which generally require more deliveries.
Remodelers realize a low price actually leads to trouble if it's offset by late delivery. "My supplier might not be the lowest price, but then again, I'm not either, so I can't expect that from my suppliers," says Brad Geer, production manager for Toledo, Ohio-based Fannin Remodeling. "I understand traffic and delays of 13 to 30 minutes. But if it's more than that, I'll find someone to get me what I need on time."
Steve Patterson, president of Central Valley Builders Supply in St. Helena, Calif., agrees with the allotted time frame when it comes to what is acceptable and what is just plain bad business. Central Valley delivery trucks want to hit their mark no more than 15 to 20 minutes after a delivery is expected. "If it becomes a half hour-plus, we know the customer is going to pick up the phone," Patterson says.
In cases of special orders, which often can take 10 days or more, lead time does not set contractors' pulses racing as long as the product shows up in the expected time frame. "If it's a special order, the supplier knows, and I can tell the homeowner it's a special order," says Randy Brown, owner of Clearwater Home Improvement in Mystic, Conn.
Life Support
Brown is a third-generation remodeler whose family has been in business for more than 50 years; he launched his own business about eight years ago. During that span, Brown has managed to weed out the suppliers that he decided he didn't want anymore.
"They had the materials, they might have had the price, but they didn't have the service," he says. And if the service levels are not there, chances are you will not be seeing that remodeler-customer anymore, either.
"I want piece of mind. I want to know that if I get something, I'm going to get someone at the supplier to stand behind the product," Brown says. If a damaged product is sent to the jobsite, the meter is still running on Clearwater Home Improvement, and the situation needs to be remedied fast.
While dealing with about 20 suppliers, Brown relies on the ABC Supply branch in Bozrah, Conn., for as much as 75% of his orders, including roofing materials, siding, and windows. The remodeler and distributor have worked regularly together for more than three years, with Brown roughly doubling the size of his business during that period, according to Frank Sitaro, managing partner of the ABC Bozrah location.
Sitaro says Brown is efficient, planning out his jobs well in advance–all the more reason for ABC to be efficient with its deliveries.
Three months ago, the Bozrah branch launched a Customer Service Delivery System (CSDS), which the 350-unit, Beloit, Wis.-based distributor is expected to have up and running in all of its stores by the end of the year. Through a number of gauges, CSDS lets ABC monitor how quickly and efficiently it's serving customers. Contractors arriving at ABC to pick up supplies are given a clipboard and a time stamp the moment they walk in the door. The desired product is pulled on the spot and turned over to the contractor in an average of four minutes, Sitaro says.
"We've brought customers in for meetings and, basically, what they want is a delivery that is on time and complete," Sitaro says. "They don't want to be waiting around for a half hour to pick up materials."
Regardless if a product is delivered on time, if it's incomplete, it's can be next to useless.
"Getting a complete package can be a phenomenal problem in the field," Geer says. If he orders a patio room, he expects all of the screws, boards, and caulk required for the job. If a single component is missing, the job could be shut down for a much as 10 days.
"It's devastating, and you can't do anything but wait," he says.