In the first of a new monthly series, Scott Craig of Pipe Center and Climate Center highlights the emerging
role of the distributor as agent of change in adding value to the supply chain.
As we all know, there is a revolution taking place in the construction trades. Nowhere, I would contend, is this revolution more striking or profound than in the building services sector.
We should perhaps not be surprised. Building services plant accounts for half of all energy consumed. As a result, the industry finds itself at the centre of a worldwide push for new, more efficient and greener ways of doing things.
The imperative is clear: to reduce costs, improve quality, shorten lead times and reduce environmental impact. This presents huge challenges, but also tremendous opportunities for the industry.
Alongside this, established supply channels are beginning to be redefined in the internet age. It is not enough simply to supply products or materials at competitive cost. There are many companies who can do this. The traditional role of “the middleman”, as someone who simply breaks bulk, is therefore changing.
The great challenge for the future is to add value to distribution. This means going beyond the age-old model, by providing customers with new services that transform their business in terms of cost and efficiency, and enable them to better meet the needs of their own customers.
It means helping our clients compete in the market, win new orders and develop their own distinct offerings. It means professions and interest groups working together in new ways – across the supply chain, to solve problems before they arise.
Key to this is recognising that traditional boundaries between trades are blurring and, in some cases, fusing, with new technical disciplines emerging. It means asking whether established training routes and, indeed, supply channels are geared to best meet the needs of the industry as it is now emerging.
Essential to this process is bringing together a lot of information that is currently spread far and wide through the supply chain, so that it can be reconciled and brought to bear in a timely fashion.
It is my contention that the distributor, positioned in the centre of the industry’s supply chain, is uniquely positioned to be such an agent of change.
We are connected to and in touch with the manufacturing issues for products and materials; we are plugged into and highly sensitive to the needs of contractors, clients and developers. If our antennae are switched on, and we are listening to what our customers and suppliers are telling us, we not only know what the market needs, we know what is possible technically and logistically.
This is a unique vantage point from which to bring people together, and act as an influential broker for change.
Over the next few months, I will be exploring this theme by highlighting practical ways in which the distributor can become such an agent for positive change in the supply chain.
We will be looking at the transformational possibilities around offsite fabrication; the importance of sharing knowledge; redefining supply chain relationships; the importance of training; integrating and streamlining the supply chain; and the potential of a more strategic and holistic approach overall to the delivery of M&E and building services.
There is a well-known saying that “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”
Today’s priorities are different to those of yesterday. For those in the distribution sector, the time is right for a new vision and a new purpose that helps move the industry forward.