May 12 2008 1:13PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I was reflecting the other day about the 44 years that I have been in this industry and about the things that I have experienced during that timeframe. As you can imagine, I have witnessed and experienced a lot and, I am happy to say, that most of it was good and positive. The home building industry is a great industry with some great people.

As you can imagine, I have been through a lot of cycles during my 44 years and I was reflecting on two downturns, the one in the 1977 timeframe and the downturn in 1990-91. I will say that those were the two worst I have experienced until this one that we are living through right now. One thing that happens when the market swings back is that there is always a new “wrinkle” in the supply chain. For example in the upturn in the 80’s we saw the birth of public builders and the start of consolidation. In the 90’s...Read More

May 7 2008 9:07AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Last week I attended the NAHB’s Spring Board of Directors’ meeting in Washington, DC and, as you can imagine, heard a ton about Green Building. It seemed that every meeting I attended, there was some mention or discussion about Green Building and how it was going to save the industry, provide a healthier environment, etc, etc, etc.

I am a member of the Building Products Issues Committee which consists of home builders, manufacturers and other industry officials. The purpose of this committee is to review various product performance issues and to encourage dialogue with manufacturers and builders to be proactive on getting to the bottom of issues and solving them before they become major issues.

...Read More

Apr 28 2008 11:04AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Last week I had a conversation with the national vice president for a nationally-known building material manufacturer as his company had just signed up with my company, Builder Partnerships, LLC. The purpose of the call was to indoctrinate him and his team to the specific details of our program and to lay out a strategy to convert our builder members to his product offering.

At the end of the conversation I asked him what his goals were with us and what did he want to get out of the first year. Well, I got the usual response, “x” number of conversions representing “y” amount of dollars, etc. Then he paused and said “I also want to better understand the confusion that exists in the supply chain and to eliminate the supply chain noise that exists today.” You see, this executive is well aware that there exists a lack of cooperation by the...Read More

Apr 16 2008 8:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I know that many builders wanting to build “green” homes and buildings are struggling to understand the new national green building guidelines and to figure out what works best for them in their local market. There are national, state and local guidelines that the builder has to evaluate to determine the applicable green specifications.

I would like to suggest to these builders that they have an additional resource to assist them through “the green maze”. That resource is the building material manufacturer, as many produce and sell green products; have complete knowledge of the various green guidelines and can assist the builder in determining which products best meet the various guidelines and standards.

There are also companies like my company, ...Read More

Apr 8 2008 10:16AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Every home building publication you pick up or see on the Internet has at least one article about “green building”. It is to the point where you want to say, “Alright already, enough is enough”! But now it is my turn to talk about “green”. So please indulge me.

The NAHB has its Green Building Guidelines that it just introduced at the International Builders’ Show in February. The United States Green Building Council has its Residential LEED Program and there are at least 90 other state and local green building programs that already exist across the country. One would think that things might get a little confusing for a builder or a manufacturer who wants to participate in the green movement.

...Read More

Mar 25 2008 1:56PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I have talked with many manufacturers over the past month and have learned that they are scratching hard to find new business to grow their respective market shares without destroying the market. It seems that these manufacturers have successful grown share in the past with the large public builders but that train ride has ended as the public builders are pulling in their horns and are not in a growth mode.

The manufacturers are now looking elsewhere for new business which is now with the smaller, privately-held builder. The only problem is that the manufacturers do not really know the smaller local builder since they have focused all of their efforts on the publics. I am happy to say that my company, Builder Partnerships, is fill that void in that we represent over 75 privately-held builders who will build over 22,000 homes this year. It gives me great pleasure to link...Read More

Mar 6 2008 7:23AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

I have sat in on several “How to Survive the Market” discussions and seminars and they have been extremely helpful to the builders who participated in them. One of the main messages to builders is to call together their “key” trade contractors and suppliers and explain the state of each builder’s business condition. Shoot straight with them; let them know the condition of your sales, backlog, inventory and cost position. Ask your trade contractors and suppliers look for ways to reduce their costs and to pass on some of the savings to you, the builder.

This is all excellent advice for the builder as it has proven to work for both the builder and the trade contractors and local suppliers, and it should be followed. However, the process I just described leaves out one important player in the supply chain, the building material manufacturer. T...Read More

Feb 26 2008 9:13AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (7) |

In talking with homebuilders, manufacturers and distributors over the past few weeks I have sensed that everyone in the supply chain is open-minded and looking for unique ways in which to hold on to and even increase their sales.

Yes, the market has been down and hasn’t bottomed out yet but the supply chain players are ready to sit down and look at news ways in which to provide value to their customers. The obvious is price-related but I have hear of other concepts such as price protection, increased terms, enhanced delivery and storage programs, increased rebates and allowances as well as enhanced training programs. I talked with one manufacturer at IBS that is offering a unique pricing program that holds the price on upgraded products while raising the price on the standard, everyday grade of product.

...Read More

Feb 19 2008 7:42AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Well, I am back from a week at the 2008 International Builders’ Show and, for some reason, I am more weary than usual after returning home and I think I know why. First of all, there wasn’t much to cheer about this year because of the condition of the home building market. This was reflected in the attendance, which NAHB forecasted being down some 15%, however, it was down much more than that. On the positive side, those who attended are the survivors, at least so far, and they were looking for new keys to survival.

The manufacturers that I talked with also were not as enthusiastic as they were in previous years, but they did tell me that the meetings they did have with builders were upbeat and promised business. In addition, there was a noticeable decrease in the educational program attendance as well. This obviously was a result of lower overall attendance...Read More

Jan 29 2008 10:01AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

We all know that the housing industry and the economy is really bad, but the problem is that every day it seems to be getting worse!! At times we all just want to curl up in a fetal position and wait for it to all get better. But this is not a strategy that will work. Now is the time for us to sit down and look in the mirror and identify our current reality – what is the state of our business in this horrible market? Once this is done, we can make realistic plans on how we will run our businesses in the current market. 

Building material manufacturers must rethink their builder sales and marketing strategies. Have they focused too much on the public builders thus putting too many eggs in one basket? Do they need a more balanced builder “portfolio”? How do they reach the private builder segment? Do manufacturers really have a good understanding of ...Read More

Jan 15 2008 11:19AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Over the past several months I have devoted this blog to discussing the supply chain and how it is constantly evolving and about the key players who are attempting to upgrade the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. Last month, Bill Lurz, Senior Editor, Business for Reed Publications, wrote a tremendous article in Housing Giants titled “Supply Chain Innovators”. This is a “Must” read for builders, manufacturers and trade contractors!

In this article Bill reviews how the largest builders in the country are trying new supply chain concepts and how various members of the manufacturing and distribution segments are changing the way the game is played. In addition, the article discusses how my company, Builder Partnersh...Read More

Jan 2 2008 9:46AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

A few weeks ago I reviewed how Pearl Protection assists its builder customers in the sales and marketing of their homes. I want to share with you how Dow Chemical provides its distributors and builders with ongoing assistance and support. Here are the details.

• Dow spends a great deal of effort in educating building material dealer employees so that they will be able to effectively communicate the features and benefits of Dow’s products to their builder customers.
• Educating contractors and builder personnel on Dow’s product solutions features and benefits, as well as building science relating to the building envelope. This increases the cre...Read More

Dec 18 2007 9:33AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Green Building is on fire!! You can’t pick up a trade magazine, paper or go to your favorite industry website or blog without reading about green building and sustainability. And, it will continue to dominate the residential and commercial construction industry.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA), commissioned a study of communities with populations greater than 50,000 to spotlight the growth and effectiveness of green building practices. Since 2003, the AIA says the number of cities with green building programs has risen from 22 to 92 for an increase of 418%.

The report, Local Leaders in Sustainability, reveals that one in seven cities surveyed currently have green building programs. This ratio will improve to one in five by next year, according to cities’ projections, with 36 cities i...Read More

Dec 12 2007 12:51PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I am sorry but I still have to discuss the current and future home building industry market situation. We have read and read and read about the problems that builders, lenders and consumers have been experiencing due to the over building in the home builder segment and the sub prime loans and foreclosure and the list goes on. 

I believe another shoe is beginning to fall with regard the condition of the market and this time it is the building material manufacturers’ shoe that is falling. Many manufacturers have cut personnel and budgets and some are on their second round of cuts. Many have curtailed capacity and laid off hourly personnel too. 

It is going to get worse because the cost of many raw materials is going sky high. Just look at the oil prices. Many of use don’t realize how many building materials utilize petroleum as a raw m...Read More

Dec 6 2007 11:33AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

In my November 13, 2007 article titled, An Under Utilized Resource, I discussed how builders should take advantage of the resources that building material manufacturers have to offer. Well, I am pleased to let everyone know that Pearl Protected, a manufacturer of a permanent escape and rescue ladder contacted me to let me know how they support their builder customers.

Stacy Gardella of Pearl Protected provided me with the following examples of how Pearl provides this support. Check this out!!

• Sales training. Not only for Pearl products but general sales training in the form of a PDF sales tool kit.
• Model home support including point-of-sale materials including videos, brochures, and educational tools.
• Marketing supp...Read More