Your customers expect high-level customer service, immediate response and quality work. Shouldn’t you require the same of your service providers – especially when the products will ultimately affect your customers’ happiness?
At a Lawn & Landscape School of Management seminar, Kevin Van Dyke, chief operating officer for Skinner Nurseries in Jacksonville, Fla., explained the value of service and why contractors shouldn’t settle with inefficiency when it comes to procuring nursery materials and working through the materials distribution network.
Value includes quality, dependability, quick turnaround and hassle-free, friendly service, he summed up. Contractors who understand the supply chain will have an easier time determining whether or not their nursery stock growers and distributors are providing them with premium products – and superior service.
“A supply chain is the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that adds value for customers and other stakeholders,” Van Dyke defined.
Here is an outline of various ways contractors can purchase nursery materials. Knowing the partners in the process can help contractors find the right source, Van Dyke pointed out.
Brokers (often referred to as the “middle men”):
· Coordinate sourcing and delivery of products
· May physically own the product or get paid on commission
· May own their own delivery fleets or use third-party or growers’ fleets
· May be able to physically visit the material
· Can provide a one-stop solution
· Are service-oriented and have limited resources
Grower Direct:
· Deal straight with the source, usually the cheapest price
· Hard to get everything at one source, even within a given product line
· Lead times and minimum orders
· Must juggle priorities between timing of crops with demands of construction jobs
· Crop oriented – crop timing comes first
Distribution:
· One-stop solution
· Ready material on the ground
· Consistent supply, broad mix
· Short-notice delivery
· Brokerage services available
· Knowledgeable staff available
· Service-oriented – maximum resources available
The author is a Contributing Editor to Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@lawnandlandscape.com.