Gan you serve e-Gontractors?

By Cal German President DMSI

fTONTRACTOR sales are the future \-,of business for many of today's retailers, wholesalers and jobbers. And the Internet promises to play an important role in how effectively they can serve the builder market.

Your business will need to offer Internet based value-added services to establish a competitive advantage with a customer base that is growing more "e"-literate by the day. That means extending your business through the World Wide Web now

As the 2lst Century approaches, it brings with it electronic- or "e-customers." This new kind of customer expects everything to be online from product information and special pric- ing to inventory availability and transaction entry. Sharing information like this online all the time will increase your sales and help your customers operate more efficiently and profitably.

E-customers want to be in control. With an Internet connection and a Web-enabled distributor quote/order entry system, e-customers have access to live, real-time, 7 x 24 x 365 information about products, pricing, availability and more anytime, anywhere. They transact with you at their convenience. Through Internet access to your business system, they control the transaction while you benefit from reduced order taking costs, re-entry time and errors. This new generation of customers will leave your sales force with more time to promote business at a higher level than order taking/management, ideally creating more of these highly profitable, low maintenance ecustomers.

Serving the ec on tractor/deal er requires extending the functionality of your business system and its information out to your customers. Using ecommerce tools such as DMSI's EntryNET, contractors or dealers create, save, retrieve, revise and convert quotes into orders instantly online giving them complete control over their transac- tions. They can view the status or delivery commitments of all orders, even if they weren't generated online-making it easy for them to see what they have coming and determine what they need for the next job.

Immediately after submitting an order an instant confirmation is received so they know exactly what they ordered, at what price, and that the available material has been secured. Control like this eliminates the e-customer's concern that a faxed or calledin order may be misinterpreted, lost or entered too late to secure available stock and ensure the order will be ready for delivery or pick-up.

Web-catalogs provide a similar service to 24-hour showrooms, but with more convenience, Contractors and dealers can view new products with their clients without making a trip to the showroom. And when intesrated

E-customers want to be in control.

into a Web-enabled quote/order system, products can be ordered directly from the web-catalog.

A familiar catalog index and layout helps customers find products quickly. On-line Web-catalogs make it easy to reference or link to manufacturers technical specifications and installation instructions, helping contractors finish bids faster and more accurately. Providing your customers with convenient access to information makes it that much easier to do business with you.

Ultimately, a Web-catalog will save you time and money because they are easy to maintain and instantly available to your customers. Printed catalogs, on the other hand, are expensive to distribute and maintain. They are often outdated and generally in circulation long after products and pricing have changed.

As distributors search for ways to add value to their services and capture confiactor/dealer sales, Internet quoting, ordering and catalogs will play a huge role.

As the new NAWDREF study on Electronic Commerce for Distribution Channels notes: "Truly interactive Web commerce will shock the entire distribution channel into creatine a new business model."