“Lumberyard,” by any other name

from HBSD April 2022

A solar-power experiment in Milwaukee

By any other name

Ken Clark Editor in Chief

HBSDealer’s editorial style calls for “lumberyard” to be written as a single word.

Maybe it’s time for that style to change. I’m not talking about splitting the word into two — “lumber yard.” Or even adding a hyphen, as in “lumber-yard.” I’m talking about banishing the word altogether.

Why? Because the term “lumberyard” fails to adequately describe the complexity and sophistication of the business activities practiced by most of those companies commonly known as “lumberyards.”

A while back, while researching a September 2020 cover story on Builders FirstSource, I asked CEO David Flitman for his thoughts on the term “lumberyard.” His response, polite and matter-of-fact, was, “We’re not a lumberyard, Ken.” (For the record, Builders FirstSource describes itself as a “Supplier of structural building products, value-added components, and services to the professional market for new residential construction and repair and remodeling.”)

More recently, at the 2022 ProDealer Industry Summit, hosted jointly by HBSDealer and the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, presentation after presentation demonstrated the expanding role of — for lack of a better term — the lumberyard.

There’s the role of building industry consultant. There’s the role of manufacturer. There’s the role of financial advisor and financial services provider. There’s the role of retailer, design-showroom operator, logistics manager.

A Summit presentation called “How to manage an unpredictable supply chain,” pointed to the following roles:

SUPPLY CHAIN FACILITATOR “In this supply chain situation, almost to the start of the pandemic when there was information coming at us almost daily, we have been very insistent on overcommunicating with our company associates and also our customers about what is going on and how we are handling the situation.” — John Perna, Hamilton Building Supply

BUILDER EDUCATOR “We’ve just tried to work to help educate our customers on talking with their customers to make sure that they’re being transparent and fully upfront when they’re selling houses. Because, honestly, our customers should be as profitable as ever right now. The dealers are doing well, our customers should be as well. And we want to make sure that they are.”

— Mark Hopkins, Hancock Lumber

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGER “If a really good customer walks into my yard and sees a truckload of OSB, and he needs it now, and I’m holding it for a guy who needs it four months down the road—that’s not a very good practice.”

— Mike Reeves, Espy Lumber

There's never a dull day for the modern “lumberyard.” Read more about the ProDealer Industry Summit at HBSDealer.com.

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MARCH 29-APRIL 2, 2022, WASHINGTON, D.C. WWW.PRODEALER.COM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NLBMDA, WWW.DEALER.ORG CONTACT: AMY PLATTER GRANT agrant@ensembleiq.com, PDIS DIRECTOR OF SPONSORSHIPS

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Levi Smith, CEO, Franklin Building Supply Cally Fromme, VP of communication and culture, Kodiak Building Partners Steve Sallah, CEO, LBM Advantage Wendy Whiteash, EVP of culture, US LBM Holdings Tom Cost, owner, Killingworth True Value Brad McDaniel, owner, McDaniel’s Do it Center Joe Kallen, CEO, Busy Beaver Building Centers

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