Coffee Chatter
Shrinking sales keep distributors busy figuring out how to shave pennies delivering less-than-truckload quantities. On the other hand, if they do keep you on the route despite meager purchases, it may be because it enables drivers like Henderson to do valuable marketing work.
Energetic as he is, Henderson doesn’t need coffee, but he still gets a cup from as many as five different dealers every day because it gives him a moment to chat with the staff and pick up details about its business that he acts on himself or relays to the home office. That makes him even more welcome at places like Curtis Lumber in Olympia, Wash., where manager Roxy Palm gets a regular courtesy call.
“He’s not a sales guy, but he knows his customers,” Palm says. “He’ll notice what he’s delivering. If it’s a special order for us, he’ll call and see if we need it right away.”
While Almaas avoids coffee, he can talk about fruit. His visits in central Washington take him past miles of orchards, and some of his dealer customers also are part-time growers. Thus, the state of the crops is an evergreen conversation topic. Almaas also keeps his ears open to sales opportunities. At one store, he learned that a driver for another company had accidentally left a glulam beam at a previous stop 47 miles away. That driver refused to go back and get the beam. Almaas saw an opportunity to acquire additional business and called the store’s Huttig rep with the story.
Notes Crossland: “If I go to a new customer, I’ll introduce myself, ask what they want, find out when they open and where they want me to park. They appreciate that.” That effort can pay dividends later, he says. “If I go to a place and there are five or six trucks ahead of me, they’ll serve me first. If you can get along with your customers, they’ll take care of you.”
Executives for distributors view their drivers in differing ways, in part because the range of connections varies so markedly. At BMD, drivers also are owners–the company is employee-owned. Huttig, Wolf, and BlueLinx employ their own drivers, while iLevel by Weyerhaeuser outsources its deliveries to trucking companies that tend to use the same drivers. Do it Best maintains its own team of drivers for hardlines but contracts out for lumber. At the far end of the scale are common carriers that get hired to haul a load of sticks. It’s possible you’ll never see that driver again.
Roll With the Changes
Truckers used to be notorious for avoiding both sleep and the rules by making caffeine- and drug-fueled runs in which they kept two logbooks so they could conceal the true hours spent behind the wheel. That era is fading fast. Just above the gear-shift lever on Huttig and Wolf trucks are computers that automatically–and honestly–track when folks like Almaas, Henderson, and Crossland are on the road. This makes it near-impossible for distributors to make their truckers drive longer than legally allowed. It also constricts a company’s ability to increase worker production. On the other hand, those computers also help distributors track potentially cuttable costs like idle time.
Nunes of ONEtree Distribution predicts that federal trucking guidelines coming in are forcing the trucking companies “to have A-1 equipment. No more second-hand stuff; the fines are so big and so large. Their equipment has to be perfect, and violations now go on the driver’s license. The drivers will only work for the big boys. That’s going to trickle down and cause a shortage of trucks.”
Bob McCollow, vice president of operations at Palmer-Donavin in Columbus, Ohio, is working now to cross-train drivers and stock pickers so that they can fill in for each other as needed. He also sees the day coming when drivers will scan products upon delivery and have dealers sign an electronic receipt, similar to what UPS and Federal Express do now.
But that won’t change the thrill that drivers like Almaas get when they fire up their rigs and head to your door.
“I enjoy the customers, getting to know them,” he says. “I also enjoy the freedom. Once I leave, I’m my own boss. It’s freedom … and responsibility.”
Distributors’ Wish List
What can you do to get the most out of your relationship with a distributor? We talked to companies nationwide and got these recommendations:
Play Favorites Give the bulk of your business to a few distributors rather than buying a little from a lot. Distributors give their best prices, most frequent deliveries, and best service to the dealers that show them some love. When dealers spread their business, BlueLinx CEO George Judd warns, “They’re making everybody go broke. By putting more eggs in fewer baskets, it’ll drive the cost to serve down.”
Limit Who Places Orders Having fewer contacts at your facility reduces chances for errors and mistakes.
Use the Distributor’s Ordering Software Some stores now rely on the distributor’s sales reps to count stock and place orders. That’s fine in its own way, but it also means the sales rep won’t have time to talk about products that can lead to new sales.
Share Info About Deals Sometimes a distributor will tell a buyer about a new program but the buyer won’t pass that info to the sales staff. As a result, the sales staff loses the chance to offer something new and potentially intriguing to the customer.
Promptness Pays Some distributors schedule up to 15 deliveries in a day. That means even a 15-minute stop at each site can add up to close to four hours of the driver’s shift. Given their tight schedules, when they’re in a pinch, drivers sometimes go first to the places that will unload them fastest. Don’t be known for being tardy.
Don’t Be Shy Distributors want your feedback about products they should offer and services they should provide, as well as a sense of where you’re taking the company.
Order Early Just because your distributor now has a 5 p.m. cutoff for next-day delivery doesn’t mean you should wait until then. Send in orders as soon as you can. That’ll make it easier for the distributor to process the requests.
Visit a Distributor’s Warehouse You might see an interesting product that you’d never thought of selling.
