HRAI e-Business Centre

One thing contractors agree on is that there is never enough time to get everything done. The time that they or their employees must take to find product information, place orders, check shipping dates, verify receipts, track inventory, track job costs and finally, pay bills, takes them away from other important matters. This means that time is not available for overseeing installations and dealing with current and potential customers. Each of these activities is addressed below.

Some HRAI members use the capabilities of the Internet in very creative ways to support their customers. Yorkland Controls is an excellent case study of this. The company provides a mini-website, hosted on its server, where a contractor can place product information and build specifications for a particular job. The information is then available for everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week during installation and then for the owner afterwards.

See also a case study of AtlasCare’s positive results through the use of technology.

Can e-Business enabled improvements give me back some time?
The facts found in the HRAI e-Business survey of its membership reveal where a lot of time is being spent. When companies use e-Business concepts to share information, time spent on the issues below can be recovered:

Time spent on the phone with suppliers
About three-quarters of HRAI contractors said that they get calls from suppliers to clarify product numbers and descriptions and almost 80% to 90% of wholesalers and manufacturers say they have to take time to call contractors back.

Many HRAI contractors say that they must take the time to contact suppliers to obtain shipping information. This matches the more than 90% of the manufacturers that say that they have to take time to provide shipping information.

Receiving the wrong items
Shipping errors are another problem, with 75% of the contractors and 91% of the wholesalers saying that they receive the wrong items on shipments. This matches 84% of the manufacturers and 100% of the wholesalers who report receiving complaints. A little more than half of those buying admit that this is not always the supplier's fault and many say it is the nature of the products. Regardless of who is to blame, having to re-ship, re-order and re-stock takes a lot of time and causes a lot of rush orders.

Rush orders
Placing rush orders and tracking the whereabouts of shipments is a critical and time-consuming activity. It doesn't matter whether it is because of an ordering error, shipping error or an emergency spare part, 94% of the contractors say they must place rush orders. Again this matches 100% of the wholesalers who make rush orders with 60% saying it happens often. Ninety-six percent of the manufacturers handle rush orders.

Product information
The Internet is becoming a primary source for product information. Ninety-six percent of the contractors said they use the Internet to get product information and 100% of the wholesalers said they use the Internet for product information.

Inaccurate inventory records
The accuracy of inventory records is important because inaccurate inventory records result in having to make rush orders. When a wholesaler is acting as a supplier, just like a manufacturer, inaccurate inventories result in missed or prolonged delivery dates. Missing dates is very important when you consider the number of rush orders in the HVAC supply chain. Of the 84% of contractors that said their suppliers have unexpected "stock outs", 21% said it happens often and one company said it happens very often.

Matching paperwork
Matching invoices to PO and manifest consumes a lot of time, with 90% of the contractors saying that they must do it with just about all of their suppliers. Matching invoices to payments is another time-consuming activity.

Improving cash flow
One of the things that slows down cash flow for contractors is the time that it takes to gather all the information required to bill their customers. Sixty-five percent revealed that time sheets were a problem and 13% said it was often or very often a problem. Information about bills of materials was a bigger concern with 70% having problems and 20% saying it was often a problem. Eighty percent revealed that obtaining information from subcontractors was a problem.

Find out more about the systems that can eliminate wasted time.

One thing wholesalers agree on is that there is never enough time to get everything done. They must spend a lot time when they procure items to meet customer requirements and then they must spend more time when they sell the items. This means that time is not available for researching new products and dealing with current and potential customers.

See how one wholesaler, Boutette & Barnett, uses Internet connections.

Can e-Business-enabled improvements give me back some time?
The facts found in the recent survey of HRAI members reveal where a lot of time is being spent. When companies use e-Business concepts to share information, this time can be recovered.

Product and pricing information
The Internet is becoming the source for product information with 100% of the wholesalers saying they use the Internet for product information. And when selling things, wholesalers should know that 96% of the contractors said they use the internet to get product information and of that, 37% said often and 13% said very often. Placing orders over the Internet is of great interest to contactors.

Time spent on the phone
Wholesalers spend a lot time on the phone dealing with both suppliers and customers. Wholesalers as well as manufacturers need to call customers to clarify items on order. In fact, 73% of contractors said that they get calls from suppliers to clarify product numbers and descriptions. Eighty to 90% of the Wholesalers and Manufacturers say they have to take time to call contractors back.

In terms of taking time to supply or obtain shipping information, 91% of the wholesalers and 96% of the manufacturers say that they have to take time to provide shipping information.

Placing rush orders and tracking the whereabouts of shipments is a critical and time-consuming activity. It doesn't matter if the rush is caused by a customer ordering error, supplier shipping error or the need for an emergency spare part, 100% of the wholesalers said they must place rush orders. Again this matches 100% of the wholesalers who make rush orders and 96% of the manufacturers handle rush orders.

Receiving the wrong items
Shipping errors can be caused by a misunderstanding of what was truly needed, confusion of a part number or description, a transposition error when entering the order, or a mistake when the item was picked or shipped. Regardless of who is to blame, errors cost a lot of time on the buy and sell sides of the transaction. Seventy-five percent of the contractors said that they receive the wrong items and 91% of the wholesalers said they receive the wrong items. This matches 84% of the manufacturers and 100% of the wholesalers who report receiving complaints from customers. A little more than half of those buying admit that this is not always the supplier's fault and many say it is the nature of the products. Having to reship, reorder and restock takes a lot of time and causing unnecessary and expensive rush orders.

Inaccurate inventory records
The accuracy of inventory records is important because inaccurate inventory records result in having to make rush orders. When a wholesaler is acting as a supplier, just like a manufacturer, inaccurate inventories result in missed or prolonged delivery dates. Missing dates is very important when you consider the number of rush orders in the HVAC supply chain. Of the 84% of contractors that said their suppliers have unexpected "stock outs", 21% revealed this happens often and one company reported that it happens very often.

Matching paperwork
When paying bills, matching invoices to the original PO and receiving manifest consumes a lot of time. Ninety percent of the wholesalers said they must go through this laborious process and 80% said it was very often.

When receiving payment, matching invoices to customer payment is another time-consuming activity.

Find out more about the systems that can eliminate wasted time.

Many manufacturers agree that there is never enough time to get everything done. They must spend a lot of time when they sell the items either to wholesalers or directly to contractors. This means that time is not available for researching new products and dealing with current and potential customers. Few manufacturers have e-Business-enabled computer systems; however, York and Lennox provide many features that customers enjoy. Manufacturers can benefit while providing higher levels of customer service by reviewing how Yorkland Controls saves time and money.

Can e-Business enabled improvements give me back some time?
The facts found in the recent survey of HRAI members tell where a lot of time is being spent. When companies use e-Business concepts to share information, this time can be recovered.

Product and pricing information
The Internet is becoming the source for product information with 100% of the wholesalers revealing that they use the Internet for product information and 96% of the contractors saying they use the Internet to get product information. Placing orders on the Internet is of interest to wholesalers and contactors.

Time spent on the phone
Manufacturers spend a lot time on the phone dealing with customers. Manufacturers (as well as wholesalers) need to call customers to clarify items on order. In fact, 73% of contractors said that they get called back from suppliers. This matches the 80% to 90% of the wholesalers and manufacturers who say they have to take time to call customers back.

In terms of taking time to supply shipping information, 66% of the wholesalers said they contact some of their suppliers and 62% of the contractors indicated that they must contact just about all their suppliers often. That matches the 91% of the wholesalers and 96% of the manufacturers that say that they have to take time to provide shipping information.

Placing rush orders and tracking the whereabouts of shipments is a critical and time-consuming activity. It doesn't matter if a customer ordering error, supplier shipping error or the need for an emergency spare part causes the rush. Virtually all manufacturers, 96%, handle rush orders and 50% say it is often or very often. Every wholesaler revealed that they must place rush orders.

Shipping errors
Shipping errors can be caused by a misunderstanding of what was truly needed, confusion of a part number or description, a transposition error when entering the order, or a mistake when the item was picked or shipped. Regardless of who is to blame, errors cost a lot of time on the buy and sell sides of the transaction. Seventy-five percent of contractors said that they have received the wrong items while 91% of wholesalers said they receive wrong items. This matches 84% of the manufacturers and 100% of the wholesalers who report receiving complaints from customers. A little more than half of those buying admit that this is not always the supplier's fault and many say it is the nature of the products.

Inaccurate inventory records
When a manufacturer has inaccurate inventory records the result is missed or prolonged delivery dates. Missing delivery dates is very important when you consider how time-critical many new construction or repair jobs are and the number of rush orders in the HVAC supply chain. Eighty-four percent of the contractors said their suppliers have unexpected "stock-outs".

Matching paperwork
When receiving payment, matching invoices to customer payment is another time-consuming activity. A significant number of manufacturers have automated the process, but 58% say they still must spend time matching up the various paper documents.

Find out more about the systems that can eliminate wasted time.