INDUSTRY TRENDS

THE PANDEMIC has forced LBM dealers and wholesalers to adopt new technology to keep their businesses going.

LBM businesses quicken adoption of new tech

Tinvolved a lot of change in every industry, and LBM was not immune. We’ve seen challenges and even more swift evolution. On the bright side, building suppliers have prepared for the worst, positioning themselves in a better spot than ever before to respond to worst-case-scenario situations. As we look ahead to the upcoming year, the LBM industry will see a few distinct changes.

Cloud has never been more important

With the impact of the CO ID-19 pandemic, building supply businesses are seeing an even bigger need for cloud software technology solutions that enable business continuity—allowing for the ability to be productive and respond to customer needs no matter where they are— whether they are working remotely, physically distanced in the store or on a job site.

Cloud software solutions have been game-changing for many organizations, and they perform in a variety of different ways that enable employees to work remotely and physically distance in the store, yard or on the job site. Mobile apps have also become very important as they enable business transactions anytime, anywhere—speeding up a process that once took days. We have also seen many customers develop robust web stores and customer portals as the demand increases. With more remote workers comes more remote customers, and fully developed web stores and customer portals are integral in enhancing the user experience. ltimately, cloud software has been for a significant evolution for businesses in the LBM industry, and we’re only seeing that become more and more true. As businesses need to reevaluate their own customers, using data from cloud software will help them understand which customers are the most and least profitable and understand buying patterns. The wide-range use of cloud software means there are more flexible ways to meet customers’ needs customer portals are now becoming the mainstay, where as before, customers would have relied on in-person engagements much more often.

There is a sharp rise in digitized supply chains

The building supply industry as a whole is moving toward digitized supply chains to better connect all stakeholders—the yard, the warehouse, the store, the jobsite, manufacturing and delivery. This level of digital integration has been accelerated by the pandemic, since it offers the most seamless model and the best customer experience since it connects every aspect of a transaction—from order status and production status, to warehouse fulfillment status and delivery status.

Businesses are looking for tools that best enable their employees to be productive and respond to customer needs no matter where they are. With supply chain disruption, pricing volatility, and strategic pricing, analytics and forecasting is even more crucial to maintain profitability and help thwart issues. Customers are looking for flexible, safe options to do business with their suppliers—via mobile, online ordering and payment, curbside delivery.

The building supply industry is increasing its adoption of e-commerce software tools

Building supply businesses want self-service capabilities when it comes to placing orders online, viewing account information, or making payments. For this reason, online customer portals are becoming even more mainstay, including e-commerce tools such as web stores, curbside pick-up and delivery, payment links, credit card surcharges, and more.

In a lot of cases, the solutions mentioned above had already been developed, but the pandemic has forced clients to realize it’s time to adopt them. The use of e-commerce tools has grown significantly in the past year an eMarketer report found that U.S. e-commerce sales was projected to

reach 79 .50 billion in 2020, up 32. % year over year. As the pandemic continues to push businesses to stay onlineonly, it’s likely that the e-commerce trends will continue in the same direction in nearly every industry. That being said, it’s critical that an LBM dealer have data visibility, and these tools are helping the industry move forward in the face of the digital revolution.

Evaluating business through analytics

When times are busy and customer orders are tacking up, a robust, user-friendly analytics system is one of the best tools a business can have. Without total, end-to-end visibility with orders, businesses are forced to shoot from the hip when it comes to managing inventory and preparing for high demands. Every supplier sits on a mountain of data, but it doesn’t need to be a cumbersome pile of numbers. The right technology helps them wrangle data to fulfi ll business needs.

Business are looking for tools and analytics such as Market Basket Analysis, Customer Stratifi cation, Company Stress Tests, and more to evaluate and manage ongoing demands. nowing which customers and products are the best by investigating not just their profi ts, but their relationships and a liations to other aspects of the business, allows resources to be focused on where they are most valuable.

Mere months in and 2021 has already proven to be just as unpredictable as the year prior. Across industries, CO ID-19 has reinforced the need for a technological shift at a pace never seen before. As businesses in the LBM world face the future, powerful new digital capabilities, utilizing the cloud in ways never done before, and enhancing business methods with e-commerce tools will be critical to success.

– Jason Parchomchuk is product manager at Epicor Software Corp. (www.epicor.com).