Why Source all Roofing Services to One Contractor
If you have many roofs, you have many needs. The company(s) you choose to service your needs matters. Will you use lots of local roofing contractors or seek a national company to service them all? Single sourcing offers many benefits, a few of which are discussed here.
Consistency and Efficiency
Using one roofing contractor reduces the number of individuals your company must interact with. Sourcing to a single roofing company limits the group of project participants, so that there is consistency in planning, estimating, execution, administration, and safety. Invoices are always sent to the right place and in the right format according to agreed-upon terms. “Customers are dealing with one person and one location that they’re making payments to vs. multiple companies. It’s more efficient on their end because they’re not hunting down different people,” says Barb Domine, Accounts Payable and Receivable, D. C. Taylor Co., Cedar Rapids, IA.
It takes your company less effort to manage projects, track status, and assess satisfaction/performance. Once project administrators learn your company’s requirements, project set-up and invoicing is more efficient. “We’ve worked out all of the kinks,” explains Sarah Schafer, Project Administrator, D. C. Taylor Co., Cedar Rapids, IA. The procedure has been streamlined.
With a master agreement negotiated, reviewed, and executed, there’s no need to negotiate terms and conditions on every project; that creates efficiency. The agreement tells everybody what the roles and responsibilities of the contract parties are (i.e. what the contractor has to do and what the customer’s roles and responsibilities are); it’s very consistent on every project.
Constant Improvements
While the facilities in your real estate portfolio may vary by roof system, geography, etc., corporate standards and requirements remain the same, as do the company’s goals and objectives. When these are communicated effectively at the beginning of a relationship, the roofing contractor can reinforce these and incorporate them into each project.
It is the contractor’s responsibility to cascade communication throughout their organization. You tell them once; they execute subsequent projects accordingly. “If a customer has corporate requirements or procedures, we can help enforce them at the facility level, like a requirement for recycling or fall protection,” adds Todd Kaska, Vice President Strategic Accounts, D. C. Taylor Co., Atlanta. “If there’s a facility that’s recently been acquired, the facility personnel might not be fully aware of the requirements. We can help train them on what their corporate teams want to have done.”
When you’re a repeat customer, the roofing contractor learns with each project how best to ensure your satisfaction and replicate the process again and again. Best practices from one project can be rolled out to all future projects. Therefore, you can take advantage of continuous improvement. The likelihood of ongoing satisfaction is greater.
Stronger Business Relationships
With less time spent on management and oversight, your relationship with your contractor can be more collaborative and robust. “You can build a better relationship, more of a trusting relationship, when you’re a repeat customer,” adds Schafer.
Previous