Tornell -
Well, at long last I have a list of about 15 companies. Given the
pattern that's developing, I think 15 is probably sufficient for a
snapshot. After my discussions with these firms, I've realized most
are investing money into this, and very little sales are actually
happening. This is true at least for the construction companies in
the traditional definition; office product type companies are doing a
bit better. It's probably for a few reasons, not the least of which
is people's resistance to change in ordering methodologies. If a rep
from a company has been ordering over the phone for 8 years, he may
not be too enthusiastic about changing his method for ordering. One
company I spoke to said a lot of these guys just want to talk on the
phone for one reason or another.
Important note: This answer is not finished until you're satisfied
with it. If you choose to rate this answer, I ask that you do so
*after* asking for any necessary information/clarification. Thanks for
your understanding.
I contacted a good portion of the companies on these lists that have
an online sales presence in addition to their normal sales methods:
Retail - Building Materials & Gardening Supplies Retailing & Wholesale
http://www.hoovers.com/industry/description/0,2205,6350,00.html
Manufacturing - Industrial Equipment & Products Distribution
http://www.hoovers.com/industry/description/0,2205,2290,00.html
The numbers below are actually "net" sales as you had originally
requested; "net" defined as total sales without sales tax. These
total net sales figures are also from Hoovers. Even though I had
originally used the term "gross" while on the phone with these
companies, the term "gross" as normally used by a company would be the
total revenue without sales tax. A Hoovers editorial rep told me
this, and I confirmed it when I asked the rep from Radio Shack the
meaning of what she referred to as "gross sales" -- the total revenue
without sales tax. This makes a lot of sense, since tax is not
considered revenue at all.
COMPANIES
=========
Lowes
Phone: 336-658-5239 [Paul]
2003 Gross Sales (mil.): $26,491
"Significantly less than 1%"
Jewett Cameron Trading Company
http://www.jewettcameron.com
Phone: 503-647-0110 [Don boon]
"Fraction of 1%."
2003 Net Sales (mil.): $43.6
Never expect it higher than 1%.
Started a couple years ago.
Moen
Fortune Brands Parent
847-484-4400
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $80
"Less than 5%."
DoItBest
Phone: 260-748-5300 [Dave Dietz]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $2308
".1%"
Radio Shack
817-415-2909 [Leah King]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $4577.2
"Less than 3%."
Target
Phone: 612-761-6735
Susan Conn
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $4390
"Some unknown fraction of 500M."
Lawson Products
http://www.lawsonproducts.com/website/main.nsf?Open
Phone: 847-827-9666 [Jeff Spencer]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $387.5
"Less than 3%."
WhiteCap http://www.whitecapdirect.com
Phone: 714-850-0900 [Bill Jacoby]
2001 Net Sales (mil.): $375.0
"Less than 1%"
"Website is mostly for marketing, but is
being overhauled for more web-based sales."
Independent Electric Supply, Inc.
http://www.iesupply.com
Phone: 650-594-9440
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $270.0
"Basically 0."
North Coast Electric Company
http://www.ncelec.com
Phone: 503-630-2770
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $225.0
"Under 1%."
SUMMIT Electric Supply Company
Luciano Mase
Phone: 505-346-9000
Sales figures can be purchased for $5 at this link:
http://www.hoovers.com/cgi-bin/offsite?dn=108379744&site=HBN&url=http://dodge.hoovers.telebase.com/cgi-bin/dandb.cgi?P=P0020HM&Q=HOOVERSNOCHG&service=HOOVERS&U=[IP]&r=HO0
"In the 1% range - still under development."
Turtle & Hughes, Inc.
http://www.turtle.com
Phone: 732-574-3600 [Julius Salakewicz {might be wrong spelling}]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $195.0
"Literally 0%."
He talked with me a little about it; they've been doing online
business for 4 years; construction guys aren't ordering online
at all, and they're trying to figure out if the money was well
spent on web commerce.
US Flow
http://www.usflow.com
Phone: 616-452-3251 [IT dept.]
2001 Net Sales (mil.): $350.0
"Under 5%."
Staples
Phone: 508-253-7342 [Katie Nash]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $11,600
$1.6B in Internet sales
OfficeMax
Phone: 216-471-6900 [Steve Basten]
2002 Net Sales (mil.): $4,600
"Less than 10%."
Companies that never got back to me for one reason or another
--either they never returned the call(s) or don't disclose this info.
[If I hear back from them, I'll be sure to post any info.]
=============================================================
Grainger
On vacation
Phone: 847-535-1000
Stuart C. Irby Co.
Phone: 601-969-1811
Speizman Industries, Inc.
Phone: 704-559-5777
R.S. Hughes Co., Inc.
Phone: 408-739-3211
Redlon & Johnson, Inc.
http://www.redlon-johnson.com
Phone: 207-773-4755
IT director
RB Auction
Phone: 604-273-7564
Production Tool Supply
Phone: 586-755-5258
Not disclosed.
MSC Industrial
Phone: 516-812-2000
http://www.mscdirect.com/mscdirect.process
Graybar Electric Company, Inc.
Phone: 314-573-9411
Deb Weis
DXP
http://www.dxpe.com
Phone: 713-996-4700
JLK Direct Distribution Inc.
Phone: 734-458-7000
GE Supply
Phone: 203-944-3000
Mayer Electric
Chris Blackwell
http://www.mayerelectric.com
Phone: 205-583-3500
F.W. Webb Company
Phone: 781-272-6600
Abatix
Brian Adamson
Phone: 214-381-1146
Indeck Power Equipment Company
Phone: 847-541-8300
Northern Tool
http://www.northerntool.com
Phone: 952-894-9510
Sears - 847-286-2500 - ask for construction
214-265-3458 -
Contractor - 407-677-3301 -ac
815-790-1446
American Standard
http://www.americanstandard-us.com/wish.asp?rf=6202003145217
732-980-6000
Ed Sleshinger
Ben small 3183 -ac
Mary Tuly 6196
Scotty's
http://www.scottys.com
Phone: 863-297-6136
Kmart
No breakout
Klein Tools, Inc.
Phone: 847-677-9500 -ac
Private
WoodWorkers Warehouse
Phone: 781-853-0900
privately held
Lehmans
Customer Service 888-438-5346
private
Noland
Phone: 757-928-9000
No Breakout
Smith and Hawken
Phone: 415-506-3700
privately held
Wal-mart
Phone: 479-277-9558
"dont give that info out"
Mayer Electric Supply Company Inc.
http://www.mayerelectric.com
Charlie Klatt
Phone: 205-583-3500
Plan on doing online sales soon.
McJunkin Corporation
Phone: 304-348-5211
Does not disclose this info
Applied Industrial Technologies
http://www.appliedindustrial.com
Phone: 216-426-4000 -ac
Not disclosed.
Home Depot
Not disclosed.
Additional Resources [with excerpts]
====================================
Statcan
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030402/d030402a.htm
Construction
Percentage of companies that use the Internet to sell goodes or
services:
2001: 0.7
2002: 4.1
Information on methods and data quality available in the Integrated
Meta Data Base: survey number 4225.
Managing Risk in e-Business
http://www.constructech.com/online_news/columns/010501.asp
"Construction companies are under considerable pressure to push their
business onto the Internet or at least use the Internet for some part
of their business processes. But statistics show that the frequency of
security attacks, incidents, and breaches are far higher for
e-commerce-based business than for non-e-commerce business.
Information leaks increase by more than 50%, and there is a 25%
increase in incidents from "trusted partners." ... Ironically, the
construction industry has been one of the slowest to embrace
technology. However, a number of opportunities have been gaining
visibility such as using an external application provider for project
management, perhaps shared among many subcontracts or business
partners; electronic mail to communicate among partners; and even
e-procurement for submitting bids electronically..."
Builders Rely On IT For Efficiency, Profit
http://www.informationweek.com/754/cont.htm
"That tends to drive certain behavior," says John Bailey, manager of
computing infrastructure at Bechtel Corp., a $12.6 billion
engineering, procurement, and construction company in San Francisco,
and a veteran of such projects. Construction companies increasingly
are turning to their IT departments for input into executive and
managerial directives. They're being asked to participate in planning
such projects as instantaneous and reliable communication among
employees and partners, accurate project scheduling so firms can win
bids while meeting profit goals, and integration of customers into the
exchange of drawings and documents. In the past year, IT has become
more engaged in the bidding process than we've ever been in the past,"
Bailey says. "IT is viewed as an integral part of the business."
According to John Thomas, CIO at Parsons Corp., a Pasadena, Calif.,
engineering, procurement, and construction company with an estimated
$2.12 billion in revenue, CIOs at these companies are "taking a seat
at the management table," and are providing more input into corporate
strategy and budgeting. "That's a real change in this industry," he
says. Thomas and his staff actually work for Perot Systems, which is
Parsons' IT outsourcer, but Thomas reports directly to Parsons' CEO."
The Use of the Internet, IntraNet, E-Mail, and Web-Based Project
Management Software in the Construction Industry
http://asceditor.unl.edu/archives/2000/orth00.htm
"The Internet is becoming more accessible every day to various
construction professionals. It is becoming a useful communication tool
and beginning to change the way construction professionals communicate
with their own employees, other construction professionals, and
clients. This paper presents a survey that was carried out during the
summer 1999. The questionnaire contained general questions about the
use of Internet, intraNet, e-mail, company websites, and web-based
project management software. One hundred contractors, material
suppliers/vendors, and owners/developers who have offices in Indiana,
Kentucky, and Ohio were randomly selected from Purdue University’s
Department of Building Construction Management company database. The
results of the survey verify that construction professionals are
taking advantage of the Internet, intraNet, e-mail, and web sites."
Services worldwide
http://www-1.ibm.com/services/insights/ii0208015.html
Interior Architects has an IT setup that is similar to Barton Malow in
that the New York-based architectural design and facilities management
firm also has a Web portal and makes use of Web collaboration software
to share documents with other parties involved in designing and
developing facilities. Interior Architects says Web technology has
helped the company reduce cycle times by 25 percent and save US$7.5
million over a two-year period.
E-Biz: Strategies for Small Business Success
http://www.ft-cdc.com/down/ebusiness/News_Articles_and_White_Papers/SBAResearchSummary1002.pdf
Regardless of size, fifty-one percent of small firms say that
business-to-business (B2B) sales account for less than 10 percent of
their total Internet commerce. Only nine percent of all small
businesses sell entirely to other businesses. Unexpectedly, even
within the construction industry online sales are primarily to
consumers.
Metal Center CEOs Stress Continued Growth
http://www.metalcenternews.com/2000/july00/scn072000_1.htm
Since 1993, the company has increased revenues 307 percent and
earnings 524 percent. Electronic commerce initiatives and further
acquisitions will lead to further growth for Reliance, Hannah said.
"We believe the Internet will benefit the company through more
cost-efficient transactions on both the buy and sell sides, as well as
the opportunity to expand our customer base," he said. "We joined
MaterialNet.com, making us the largest metal service center supplier
in the Network. Internet sales are still in their infancy, but that
will change over time, and we want to be in the forefront."
Online ordering gives contractors purchasing powers
http://www.bidbuybuild.com/news04272000.htm
"Online ordering gives contractors purchasing power There was a time
when construction companies wouldn't have dreamed of ordering
materials over the Internet. The time is rapidly approaching when they
wouldn't dream of doing it any other way. Business-to-business
e-commerce is the economy; that's where we're all going," says Mike
Hartley, director of Grant Thornton's e*tech industry group in
Chicago. "Any type of large industrial procurement will be over the
Net, because it's faster and cheaper."
Online ordering gives contractors purchasing powers
http://www.bidbuybuild.com/news04272000.htm
"The construction industry has lagged behind manufacturing and
industrial segments in adopting information technology, but that is
beginning to change as start-up "dot-com" firms obtain venture capital
to create an online construction marketplace..."
Equipment Buyers Look to Web to Conduct Future Business
http://www.aem.org/News/AEMNews/Details.asp?P=78
"In the near future, construction equipment buyers will turn to the
Internet more often for many aspects of product purchases and support,
often at the expense of more traditional ways of conducting business,
according to a preliminary survey of construction equipment customers
conducted by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). AEM is
the consolidation of the Construction Industry Manufacturers
Association (CIMA) and Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI)
effective January 1, 2002. According to the AEM survey, buyers expect
to use the Internet more in the future for almost every type of
transaction - including equipment purchases, resale, service and
support. Whether on their websites or not, the top-ranking services
that equipment customers want from manufacturers include direct parts
sales and component life expectancy data, as well as field service.
Other services buyers rank as valuable include (in descending order)
direct equipment sales, trade-in programs, on-site training, equipment
evaluations, and factory financing."
Search Strategy:
"construction company" OR "construction firm" "through the web" OR
"via the web"
"construction companies are" web
construction "web-based sales" OR "interNet-based sales" OR "online
sales"
consturction industry survey
construction industry ecommerce OR e-commerce
construction industry e-business OR ebusiness
"construction industry" statistics
"construction industry" "online * forecast"
"online sales * construction"
Additional LInks:
Hanley Wood
Corporate Headquarters
One Thomas Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Telephone: (202) 452-0800
FAX: (202) 785-1974
E-Mail Directory
Manfredy and Associates 847-949-9080
They do custom surveying/report generation. |
