EDUCATE
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS LANDSCAPING TECHNOLOGY HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM THE DAYS OF EXCEL SPREADSHEETS AND PEN AND PAPER INVOICING. AS WE SETTLE INTO THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IS INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON DATA COMPILATION AND REAL-TIME ANALYTICS. GOMATERIALS PREDICTS THE THREE TRENDS WHICH HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO RESHAPE THE LANDSCAPING INDUSTRY AS WE KNOW IT Rise of the technology-enabled outsourcing services A common pattern across industries is specialization and the rise of focused thirdparty services. Landscaping is also going through this transformation. Currently, landscapers can outsource any task from the beginning to the end of a project by leveraging various new age services. For example, Tilly, the affordable online landscape design company launched Tilly for Pros, which creates landscape designs for landscaping businesses. You can partner with them if you thrive in the execution of a project but not the designing aspect, or if you have an overflow of design work and need support during the busy season. “Tilly for Pros allows landscape contractors to streamline their work while offering quality and professional designs to their customers,” says Blythe Yost, principal landscape architect and CEO of Tilly. “We give
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contractors the option to include their logo on the final design plans so they can truly view Tilly as an extension of their team.” Another example is Takeoff Monkey, a professional takeoff service that helps reduce the time spent on takeoffs. Tommy Lather, CEO of Takeoff Monkey explains why that is so important:
LANDSCAPERS CAN OUTSOURCE ANY TASK FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END OF A PROJECT BY LEVERAGING VARIOUS NEW AGE SERVICES “It’s hard for landscapers to split their time on new business and fulfilling existing contracts. Our service takes care of takeoffs, which lets them double their bid rate,” he says.
Professional procurement services complete the design-takeoff-deliver cycle. GoMaterials helps source wholesale plants and trees for your landscaping jobs. When you don’t have the time or manpower to locate plant materials and to organize the delivery logistics, GoMaterials can help. In short, you can outsource design, takeoffs and sourcing to the experts, and focus on the elements of running a landscaping business that you excel in. Technology-enabled outsourcing brings business owners one step closer to achieving a good work-life balance without compromising the customer’s experience. From hunch to data You probably make more profit off of residential properties. You think a certain species of trees will be in high demand next year. As an industry, we’re tired of relying on hedge words and want concrete numbers to back our decisions. Accurate data is essential
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