Get Our Email Newsletter

Relevant for years to come

From the editor Great Place to Work

 

In this month’s profile story on Knudson Lumber, we share that Renee Kraft has introduced her single-location lumberyard to online retail. Knudson Lumber invested in the software, staff, and infrastructure to allow customers to shop online, submit quotes, chat or email with the sales team, and pay their bills online. All this for a small-town lumberyard in Central Washington.

LBM Resources

White Paper: Increase Outside Sales Productivity using Mobile Technologies

Increase Outside Sales Productivity using Mobile Technologies For most lumber and building materials (LBM) dealers and distributors, their outside sales people are critical to the success...

I mention Renee’s story here because after interviewing her, I was left with the idea that we can all learn from Knudson Lumber’s philosophy. The way in which the company has focused on the future of online retail before it found itself in crisis mode scrambling to catch up is a lesson in strategy and tactics that can serve as a model for companies of all sizes. Knudson Lumber doesn’t need online sales right now. In fact, the vast majority of the company’s builder customers don’t shop online. But they will. And when they do, Renee and her team will be ready for them.

Perhaps it is because Ellensburg, Washington, where Knudson Lumber is located, has a population of just over 20,000 that makes their focus on online sales so impressive. The town where I live has about 50% more people, but no option for online LBM shopping outside of that one big box store on the edge of town.

In an area that isn’t clamoring yet to buy building materials online, Renee’s team has established a digital marketplace for its products, and they’ve done so while also maintaining revenues of $15 million and climbing. Now we’ve got a lesson not only in strategy and tactics, but in multitasking as well. As the team at Knudson Lumber worked to make each day’s business a success, they’ve laid the foundation for years of future business as well.

- Advertisement -

As Renee said during our interview, “I feel the reasoning behind online retail in this day and age is that you have to be visible, you have to be transparent about your business, you have to be online, and you have to be relevant.”

 

— James Anderson
Editor

Get our free newsletter

Join thousands of other lumber and building material industry leaders and keep up with the companies, people, products and issues shaping the industry.

What's New

Digital Partners

Become a digital partner ...

Sales Comp Study

Download this 55-page, in-depth study by LBM Journal of industry trends in sales force compensation and benefits. See how your organization stacks up.

Webinars

- Advertisement -

White Papers

View all ...

- Advertisement -

Partner Content

View all ...

- Advertisement -

It looks like you're using an ad blocker?

LBM Journal is only made possible with the support of our advertisers, but it appears that you have ad blocking enabled. Please disable ad blocking for this site. Thank you!

LBM Journal

Get the 2023 LBM Journal Sales Compensation & Benefits Study