Do it Best company leaders and industry experts gave their insights about upcoming trends and innovations for its members during its annual Fall Market, held from Sept. 6-8 in Indianapolis, IN. The company kicked off this year’s market with an industry update Sept. 6.
One of the overarching themes for this year’s market is preparing for upcoming growth. Following its merger earlier this year with United Hardware, Do it Best has seen membership grow by 20%, according to the company.
“Over the past year, Do it Best has been working on to support your businesses, offering you special programs and buying powerful partnerships with our mills and manufacturers, even in the face of difficult economic headwinds, our program is still growing, and we’re confident that this trend will continue throughout the upcoming year,” said Russ Kathrein, vice president of lumber and building materials for Do it Best.
Kathrein said experts are projecting a shift back to a seller’s market in the industry, signaling opportunity to make inventory investments, particularly in U.S.-sourced lumber, like Southern Yellow Pine.
“Keeping your stock up is only half the battle—there’s so much more that goes into today’s competitive environment, and we have the team in place delivering industry living experience for your business, products, programs and partnerships to give your leg up on your competition,” Kathrein said.
Also featured in Do it Best’s industry update was a first look inside the company’s upcoming Do it Best Pro Sales School, to be held from Oct. 9-10 in Ft. Wayne, IN. Hosted by sales and leadership expert Bradley Hartmann, the course will feature insights on strategy and how to set and hit sales goals.
“There is a shift that is happening, and it’s been underway about 12 to 18 months, and talking to our friends across the country and working with our clients, we’ve seen sales leaders and sales reps are continuing to do the same thing they have been doing, largely since the end of the Great Recession,” Hartmann said. “[We’re] finding that, up until recently, putting in the same amount of effort and doing the same thing is now yielding different results, i.e. lower sales, lower margins, working harder to get fewer sales, competing more on price, and really not being able to capitalize on all the ways that they are better or different. This is the reason we are getting together in Fort Wayne to really talk about these things, because this is a sales management issue.”
Also in attendance during the update was Director of LBM Sales Eric Knox, who stepped into his new role earlier this year.
“Throughout my career, I focused on creative, independent sales strategies that not only meet the demands of the market, but also proactively anticipate the needs of our members in this new role I’m here to do just that—expand our reach, enhance our sales strategies, and ensure our lumber building materials division is well positioned to support our members as they navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead.”
Knox shared insights into some new innovations Do it Best has been working on rolling out over the coming months, including an LBM-focused annual buying calendar and new purchase summary reports broken down into a number of data-driven categories, as well as a top 40 vendor list.
“One of the things we’ve been doing over the last 90 days has been getting our traders back out into the field, walking your lumberyards, talking with you about your businesses, about what’s working and what’s not working, and new products that you’re looking for, this has led to some great conversations where we can continue to grow that business,” Knox said. “It’s also allowed us to share other programs that we see working for other members. These visits have been valuable for us to identify opportunities to help you grow.”
To close out the update, Mike Ter Molen, director of LBM operations and purchasing, announced a list of some of the top Vendors of the Year across different categories.
- Georgia-Pacific Gypsum
- AHF
- VT Industries
- Nelson Wood Shims
- Boise Cascade
- Green First Forest Products
- Georgia-Pacific Plywood
- ‘Specialty Building Products
See more about Do it Best’s Buying Markets here.Â