WE TREAT WOOD RIGHT... QUALITY PRESSURE TREATED WOOD

Typically, inventories on the ground are counted and reported once a month and summaries sent to the customer a few days later. The time it takes to physically count the entire inventory limits yards to once a month. Yet. with the increasing demand for up to date information, customers need summaries of their inventory weekly and perhaps even daily. This puts a high demand on your staff.

In this day and age of doing much of your business and personal transactions on the Internet, why not set uP customer access to their inventory the same way? North American Reload, Cloverdale, B.C., had its inventory systems staff contact its Web page programmer to download the inventory data base to its Web site.

Now, its customers have the ability to view their inventories online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The data is entered to the computer as soon as the lumber arrives at the reload to enable the customer to view data that is current and correct. This is achieved by tagging all units of lumber with a bar code unless it has a bar code from the source.

A unique identifier on each package allows the inventories to be divided up by customer. When they log on to the Web page with their own ID and password, they can view what they have on the ground at their convenience. This allows customers to identify units that are getting too old, and see when an item is overstocked.

"In the current climate of the lumber world, customers need an edge to be competitive and this ability to know what they have, and where they have it, gives them exactly that," said North American Reload president Bradley Clarke.

The company introduced its online inventory last year for one of its cedar customers due to the complexity of the grades. "lt had such a dynamic impact on them that we extended it to all of our customers," Clarke said. "Now, we are getting business simply due to this service."

Increasingly, wholesalers are working from home and on the go, so the ability to view their inventory on the road can help sales immensely. Even when working from the office, support staff may be bogged down with the never ending piles of paperwork that are involved when trading lumber, and too busy to answer an inventory question. Whether the trader can log on

I and view what is on the ground can be the difference between getting or not getting an order.

Correct and timely inventory information is a key to successful lumber trading. To have live access, at any time, to what you have on the ground is vital to making good decisions.

Hawaii Forms Lumber Group

Hawaii-based lumber retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers are invited to join a new association devoted to promoting lumber products as a renewable resource and sound building material.

The Hawaii Lumber Products Association is headed by president Hap Person, Honolulu Wood Treating Co., Honolulu.

"The association's goal is to educate the public on lumber as the preferred building material based on over a 100-year track record of wood and its increasing long-term performance in Hawaii's climate conditions and construction industry," Person said.

Founding members include Honolulu Wood Treating, HPM, Hardware Hawaii Ace, Honsador, Rinell Wood Systems, Hale Kauai, Miyake Concrete Accessories and Plywood Hawaii.

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