S3 Construction Pvt. Ltd.

One major area of wholesale distribution is the Construction Materials Industry. The construction materials industry includes suppliers of the raw materials used by construction firms when building commercial and residential properties. This means that basic materials such as brick, stone, concrete and cement in addition to wood, lumber, wood paneling and mill work products fall into this category. Additionally, distributors also supply roofing, guttering and insulation products.

 Within established and emerging markets, there will often be changes in demand for different products. Consumer preference can change as quickly as wind direction and something as simple as minor changes in hardwood flooring trends can wreak havoc on a distributor’s inventory plan and forecast. A change such as these can be costly if a distributor is caught carrying a large quantity of product that is no longer in line with consumer’s style or desires.

Another growing trend is the drive towards sustainability in the building trade; new products such as solar panels and super-efficient triple-glazed windows are seeing an increased demand among consumers concerned about environmental impact.

The challenge for wholesale building suppliers is identifying these popular trends before the competition does. High-level communications with builders regarding trends within the market are key to developing insight into the industry. Even just having technology in place that alerts inventory purchasers of shifts in demand can give a wholesale distributor a competitive edge and keep their business relevant.

Wholesale suppliers to the construction industry are one step removed from the end users, so extra time and analysis needs to be made to stay ahead of the curve when identifying new products to stock or what products might become obsolete. Good inventory optimization is paramount in this industry, but it relies on having a stock control system that operates in real-time.