CREJ

June 2020 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 41 In fact, the ability to manage these pain points are most often associated with having the available personnel to find, procure, receive, warehouse and deliver the materials that keep your project on track, on budget and make your clients happy to refer you at the end of the job. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example. Say you’re the contractor leading a commercial tenant improvement project. You’re preparing to coordinate for the installation of new flooring when you’re informed that the materials are not just behind, but on back order. The multiweek delay was unexpected and out of your control, but nevertheless, the client is understandably upset. Their business was set to open a new location and your contract might even have a performance clause that could cost you money due to a delay that wasn’t your fault. As a result, your industry reputation as firm that meets construction timelines is now at risk. Pointing fingers and assigning blame might offer tem- porary relief, but it doesn’t solve for the delayed product. Instead, you’re either left searching for a last-minute quick- ship solution or forced to reschedule the subs. All of this is on top of having to deal with a mad client. Unfortunately, this is a scenario that far too many firms have experienced. In fact, some of the building industry’s largest efficiencies are lost to product delays. The solution? Focus on what you’re good at. Outsource the rest. Even though we’ve yet to experience COVID-19’s impact on the current development boom, the construction envi- ronment is complicated with high product demand, often resulting in delays, back order issues and unresponsive vendors. This means there’s a growing need for enterprise, value-add support to tackle project-critical tasks like logis- tics, procurement, project management and vendor man- agement. In essence, the activities that allow your firm to grow and thrive. But between the day-to-day demands of running a busi- ness and the details of project management, it’s easy to un- derstand how and why these details get overlooked. Growing Your Business Working with an integrated product and logistics partner ensures your company can compete at the highest level, winning larger, more complex jobs and managing multiple projects simultaneously – all with successful outcomes. Irrespective of your client’s budget or project needs, thou- sands of products are available for your choosing. This part- ner can help you sift through the options – think everything from hard surfaces, carpet and tile to wallcoverings, cabin- etry, window treatments and commercial and residential furniture – andmake the right selections. They can even pro- vide full concept designs or construction-ready documents, if needed. The resulting time savings frees up your team to focus on providing your clients with a high level of service while al- lowing you to stay focusedongrowing the business pipeline. In the building industry, reputation is everything. And your reputation depends on your client’s experience. Provid- ing companies with support to ensure successful and excep- tional project execution, on time, on budget while elevating your client’s experience is the goal. Why? Because the more successful you are with us sup- porting you in the background, the more successful we all will be. \\ judyg@dsinteriorsolutions.com ELEMENTS Growing Efficiently Focusing on tasks that bog the building industry down, but are critical to a project’s success – like product selection.