Called to Account
Years ago, lumberyard owners might have scoffed at the notion of employing a chief financial officer to manage their cash flows and balance the books. Even the title sounded way too highfalutin: CFOs were for banks and companies with offices downtown, not for lumberyards out by the rail spur. Read more
2008 ProSales 100
2008 ProSales 100: Red Scare
For the first time in quite a while, dealers across the nation had to pull out red ink pens to complete their ledgers for 2007. The worst home-building slump in 20 years resulted in 84% of the companies on this year's ProSales 100 reporting lower sales in 2007 than the year before. The average drop was 13.6%, but some reported sinking far further--as much as 50%. In addition, a number of high-profile dealers that appeared in previous ProSales 100 listings declined to participate this year, some saying they didn't want to reveal how far they'd fallen. Read more
If you haven't yet been hit with builder customers looking to negotiate prices for your products and services, count yourself among a shrinking pool of dealers. An updated survey of more than 300 builders, weighted to reflect national industry demographics, says that 80% of them are somewhat to very likely to negotiate price with their suppliers. Read more
Competing standards and certifications could raise awareness about eco-friendly home building and the products that go into it. Read more
Get out your financial statements, for here are the latest numbers: 6.06, 19.82, 23.78, 41.65, and 59.61. No, this isn't the lottery; it's benchmarking, the practice of measuring the performance of your business against others in your industry. Those numbers are a few of the key financial ratios reported and calculated in the latest Cost of Doing Business (CODB), prepared by Jim Enter of the American Association of Roundtables (AART) for the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer's Association LBM Institute. Read more
Competing standards and certifications could raise awareness about eco-friendly home building and the products that go into it. Read more
84 Lumber Shutters More Stores / The Danger of CFLs / Congresswoman Speaks Out About CFLS Read more
Visitors to www.prosalesonline.com have looked at more than 4,000 articles more than 58,000 times this year, but just 10 articles accounted for more than one-fifth of the total page views. Read more