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"Politically, when it's time to choose a firm from this customer base to handle their building needs, they often times are forced to subjectively select their largest volume clients regardless of their other credentials or cost competitiveness. Our goal is to 'insulate' the (retailer) from this awkward process by providing a qualified arbitrator to objectively make subcontractor and vendor selections based on the real needs of the project."

LBM Supply Chain Getting In SYnc

Technology synchronization for the entire LBM supply chain was the focus of the recent American Hardware Manufacturers Association's Hardlines Technology Forum in Phoenix, Az.

This year's conference had a broad mix of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, with help from executives at Lowe's and Ace Hardware Corp., who urged their trading partners to attend.

Keynote speaker Jim Tompkins, president, Tompkins Associates, summed up much of the conference's focus when he said, "It's no longer relevant that you're a great company. What matters is how good your supply chain is."

Industry leaders agreed, citing a proliferation of SKUs as the most persistent supply chain problem. Tompkins warned leaders that technology synchronization must be matched by logistics synchronization.

Tompkins also noted that some companies have lean manufacturing operations but fat supply chains.

"DCs should flow products not store it," Tompkins said. "Make sure all suppliers have Internet connectivity and don't treat all customers the same."

The term "item synchronization," which refers to the electronic transmission of price and products information from the manufacturer to the customer, was on the minds of many industry leaders.

"Beyond direct benefits," said Home Depot's Mark Healy, "item synchronization is the foundation of all forms of electronic collaboration."

Peggy Spofford of 3M added that 30Vo of the data in retailers' systems is inaccurate.

"Item sync is costing us all a lot of money," she said. "We're all trying to do whatever we can to reduce supply chain costs-it's not an IT thing, its basic business."

Spofford urged industry members to continue educating themselves on the subject, as well as to educate others within their companies. "You need to investigate where your data is and clean it up," she said.