A Retailer Looks at Grade Simplification and Standardization

by HERB.CRAWFORD, Generol Monoger Western Sierro Lumber Compony

As the representative for the ultimate consumer. of our products, the individual customer, contractor, or industrial concern, it is of interest to me that representatives of our industry have, at long last, given consideration to modernizing and improving our products.

For years past, particularly since World War II, we have been satisfied to maintain the status quo while competing products have made inroads into what was formerly our market. Consider the fact that we as retailers are no longer headquarters for shingles, wood flooring, millwork, or plywood. Each of these products which formerly represented a sizeable segment of our business has slipped away, primarily due to our negligence and lack of forceful salesmanship. We have become more and more dependent upon the sale of common lumber to support our yards, and as our stock became less diversified, the competition increased to the extent that for the last several years in the face of a building boom, we are faced with shrinking profits.

According to the last figures obtainable, through the year 196I we have shown a decline in net profit for yards doing $750 M per year and up, Irom 3.37/o to 1.68/6 net before tax. Needless to say, those figures are not encouraging, but they are representative and the year 1962, I am sure, will not show an improvement.

We have reached a critical stage ialo,fri business and it is my sincere belief that' these next few years will see a change, th: like of which we have never before experienced..A revolution is taking place whether we recognize it or not in our method of distribution-a change which will effect all of us. We must, as a consequence, be willing to listen to new methods and new suggestions. If not, our days of survival as individual operators are limited.

Think for a moment of the new trends in retailing-the do.it-yourself yard catering entirely to the individual customer through a self-service approach, the increase in number of the cash and carry yards with their high volume, low margin approach, the specialists in pre-cut, truss and component manufacture who cater to the volume contractor business. I)o these sound like the conventional retail yards as we remember them selling a eomplete line df building supplies to the contractor trade ?

We have for years as an industry, maintained an independent attitude toward our customers, ofiering a product which we manu{acture with almost no thought given to the desires of the public. When, for example, was the last major change in grades o{ framing lumber? 1956 was the date of grading Rule $ 15, seven years ago. This ,, was a result of work begun five years earlier. in 1952. I well remember a meetins in Los Angeles during which the ,,u*. grud., were discussed as well as the proposed changes in description. Hal Simpson, of WCLA, now deceased, outlined the program and forecast a long period of selling this proposal to the national distributors.

We have again reached a point where we must consider additional changes. Whether the proposals as outlined by the committee are the best and only ones, remain to be seen. It seems to me that after two and one half years of study by a well qualified group of experts, their report merits our serious attention.

From the standpoint of a retailer and as a representative of the consumer it is evident that we need simnlification and standardization if we are to improve our position. Why must our products remain a mystery to the general public? Why cannot our common species and grade be publicized to the extent that designers, architects and contractors are able to specify lumber which is proper for the job and at the same time is readily obtainable?

The problems ofa retailer operating under the proposed changes do not seem impossible of solution. For example: The standardization of names is certainly an improve.ment. Whether we agree with the suggested one or not is imrnaterial. The reduction in nirrdber of- grades, the elimi. nation of mixed grades, and the addition of appearance grades are all improvements which are evident.

The standardization of grade require' ments to provide comparability between species is somewhat more involved but again will eliminate confusion, simplify specification writing and will make for more uniformity regardless of the specie.

One of the major complaints voiced by users of lumber products is the complex method of grade description and intended use. Because of the difficulty experienced in using the grading rules books, it is quite common for a specification writer to include grades which are not common, and in many cases are almost impossible to obtain. The results of this lack of clarity are unwarranted cost, dissatisfaction on the part of the designer and customer, and certainly dissatisfaction on the part of the retailer who has spent many hours and a considerable amount of money trying to satisfy requirements which need not have been written.

These three changes mentioned above will improve our method of merchandising lumber, will create more interest in our products, and will eliminate a good deal of confusion now present. They are not particularly controversial and will probably be adopted in modified form in my opinion. The remaining three provisions of this system have caused considerable discussion in the industry and merit a closer study.

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