Tony Dubreville, Trade Service Corp., San Diego, Calif.

Offering product content to the construction industry for over 70 years, Trade Service (recently acquired by i2 Technologies) now sees, as a result of e-commerce, a strong need for enhanced product content. "Historically, we've provided product and pricing information," says Dubreville. That's essentially a product description, a price and other components to enhance commerce, such as a part number.

"What we're seeing a strong demand for today is attributed content-additional information about a product," Dubreville explains. That includes features such as color, weight and additional descriptive information.

This trend really started to gain momentum within the last year, Dubreville says. In response to this market need, Trade Service released in April e-Dataflex, an enhancement to its customary product and pricing information. Clients who want to put business on the web will be able to use the content live, he says.

Prior to e-Dataflex, if the customer didn't have the exact product information, he would be unable to find the product. Now buyers can look for products according to specific features. For example, a contractor looking for a black electrical socket enters "black electrical socket" and then sees a list of products the supplier has that fit that description.

"In our industry, we're seeing more and more demand from Fortune 1,000 companies," Dubreville says. "They're really driving a lot of the e-commerce activity and they're demanding sophisticated technology from their suppliers. They want a very rich search capability and content that will maximize their buying experience."

Within the last six to 12 months, Trade Service has noted accelerated growth in the demand for pricing software. (The company offers pricing software to augment its product content.) "It has a lot to do with technology," Dubreville says. "The larger contractors have always been relatively tech savvy, and the smaller ones were dragging their feet a bit. Now they're seeing that you have to do it to keep business."

Judy Johnson, marketing communications manager , FieldCentrix, Irvine, Calif.

When FieldCentrix offered its first wireless system several years ago, most contractors had never heard of wireless. Today, there are a number of other companies offering wireless systems and more astute buyers are looking for integration systems, Johnson says.

Today's wireless technology trends are really being driven by customer need, remarks Johnson. "Interest is white hot. Now it's not a question of what, but when [with many companies]."

Contractors are trying to get their billing out more quickly, Johnson points out. "They can finish a service action in the field and get the bill out that same day. For many people that's what pushed them to do it now rather than later."

And some people want to have the prestige of being the first in their area, she adds. "They've started using it in their sales proposals."

The number of wireless data network business options, such AT&T Wireless, Cingular and Intuit, has grown, with satellite being the latest option, Johnson says. "The choice is increasing and the range of the cost of the solution is broadening, including costs on the lower end of the scale," she says. However, most of these are not very far in terms of deployment yet. There's a lot of announcements."

FieldCentrix discovered that many customers were interested in having integration between the field technician, dispatch and the accounting system. Although it offers wireless and dispatch systems, it has no accounting system. Consequently, it integrated to other accounting systems, and keeps adding accounting integration partners. Field Centrix added satellite options to its systems in June, and supports a wide range of wireless coverage choices and offers a web-based application.

"Not all wireless is created equal," Johnson cautions. She points out that there is a range of choices, with advantages and disadvantages to each.

Before choosing a system, ask yourself these questions, she recommends.

• What wireless network works best for you? In different parts of the country software options are different, she points out. Find out what wireless coverage the provider has to ensure that you will have coverage in your area.
  
• Can I continue to access information when I'm out of coverage? Also, ask yourself if that's important for your business, Johnson points out. If it's not important than that difference is less coverage. In that case, it's more like a cell phone, she says. When you want more complete usage, look for a database resident and database hold memory when out of coverage.
  
• How rugged do you need the system to be? A system that will be going with a technician up on a roof is different than one for someone who's in a building, Johnson explains. If the application is more rugged, you might want to go with something simpler like a palmheld, she says. On the other hand, in a building you might want to go with a CE operating system.
  

Do you want people to access the system from different locations? Do you want customers to access and open service requests? In that case, you're going to need an Internet application, Johnson says. Also, if you want to use the system at home and after-hours, you need the Internet.

Tim Clover, president, Cloversoft, San Rafael, Calif.

Pricing software usage by plumbing contractors is increasing, reports Clover. "It's important that every part of a business be a profit center. We can't afford to give away materials or lose money on them anymore than we can afford to lose money on labor hours."

Using estimating software with a pricing database is a business must, Clover says. It allows the contractor to price out simple or large complex jobs. Having estimating software built into the system is a plus, he adds. "If you don't buy something built in, then you'll have to buy something else."

Available in a junior and full-size versions, Cloversoft's PricePoint business management software for small- to medium-sized plumbing and heating contractors includes a flat rate module that allows the contractor to create his own flat rate book and a scheduling module that creates a work order and schedule.

Cloversoft's latest version of its proposal builder, Proposal Builder II, not only facilitates creation of estimates and incorporating that information into a proposal, but is designed for easier use and features rich text format.

The biggest improvement in the last 10 years has been the inclusion of the principles of profit enhancement, Clover remarks. Rather than a flat markup, the contractor uses a profit percentage. "It helps them set a goal and achieve it with profit percentage rather than flat percentage across the board," he says.

Tiered pricing is also incorporated. PricePoint incorporates tiered pricing, evaluating the net cost of an item and them dialing in a variable profit percentage depending on what tier the product is in, Clover explains. Small items have very high profit percentage, say 75 percent. "The contractor makes out better overall," he says.

The program allows for the creation of assemblies for common jobs. For example, Clover says, the contractor creates an assembly for replacing a water closet, which includes installation time and all material components plus a dump fee. When someone selects "water closet replacement," all that information immediately goes into the estimate and changes the price. That same information can be brought into invoices.

Randy Hilton, Berkey's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, South Lake, Texas

New technological advances sound promising to the plumbing contractor, but the reality is "it's hard to get the technology to work," remarks Hilton.

Case in point, he says, is Berkey's experience with two-way pagers. The company wanted to switch dispatch to e-mail to become more efficient and effective. "We found e-mail servers pretty unreliable at the small-guy level," he says. "Because e-mail is unreliable, we can't be 100-percent reliable on dispatching. Thirty minutes later is no good."

Wireless networks look great, Hilton says. But it's infrastructure problems that prevent the networks from providing Berkey's with the service it needs, he adds. "They don't service the areas we do the most work in."

"We have 15 trucks in the field," he adds. "If we had 50 trucks in the field, we might be looking at some of the more promising systems out there."

Currently Berkey's technicians use both PCS phones and two-way pagers in the field. The pagers are used to send in close-out information and call status information since those aren't as time sensitive, Hilton says.

"Our overall goal is to reduce the interaction time between the dispatcher and the technician," Hilton says. Cutting down on that time can mean the difference between having one dispatcher or two, he points out.

Berkey's has had its share of unpleasant brushes with technology, Hilton says. He cites the company's purchase of Geotext. "It was a nice system," he remarks. "But they went down the tubes and left us with a lot of expensive equipment."

Recently Berkey's put its price rate book on palm pilots. "We're using the prototype right now," Hilton says. "The idea is, if we need to we can quickly modify prices. (At night, the technician would place the palm pilot in its cradle and the new information would be uploaded.) Also, we can collect invoice and sales information and upload that information to the office every night."

Berkey's uses its Web site to serve customers, not as a marketing tool, Hilton says. "One problem many companies have is that they think the Internet is a mass marketers dream and a Web site can replace advertising. "We will continue to use our Web site to serve customers. We don't think it will be a marketing tool, but an extension of our customer service.

In the plumbing industry, the contractor needs to use the technology to help do a better job, not be driven by the technology, Hilton says. "We've gotten real excited about technology and what it can do, but forgotten what we're about-service."

David Berman, CEO, Plumbing.com, Middletown, NY

Wholesalers' efforts to offer online purchasing to contractors have dramatically decreased, reports Berman. "The whole dot com crash has slowed this down substantially. It used to be, 'We've got to do something or the world will pass us by.' Now they're relieved. They can return to business without having to turn on a computer. It's what they had hoped was going to happen to Home Depot."

In fact, many wholesalers have closed their Web sites or are not avidly pursuing Internet possibilities. Look at Hughes Supply, he says. "It put $25 million into its site and then closed it down in April."

Those continuing to utilize the Internet have a strong purpose of customer service, and are doing so to retain customers and to cut costs, not to gain more customers, Berman says. "If we can get people to transact business over the Web, whole customer service sales rates and error rates are cut down."

Plumbing.com wasn't developed to replace supply houses, but to serve as a filler source for the plumbing contractor, Berman says. "We're not taking food away from the supply houses. What we're taking away is the frustration, the problem-plagued order, the special order."

By paying a higher price for a product, the contractor gets the convenience of UPS national next-day delivery, and the ability to order from a deep inventory selection of residential and commercial plumbing products.

"We have grown every month," Berman says. What's made "a dramatic difference" is that the company has gotten the word out that contractors can call; they don't have to go online. "In fact, we have customers who go online offhours, but call us the next day."

The company has not yet started up hvrac.com, its heating-ventilation-airconditioning online supply component. "We're developing slowly," Berman reports. "We need to get to critical mass before we get to that point."

Traditionally, the plumbing contractor has been hesitant to take on new technology, he points out, citing computers and bar coders as examples. "Everyone thought the Internet was going to change the world, but it's a very slow transition, especially when that is being reinforced by major players in the industry."

Brad Mathews, vice president of sales and marketing,Dexter + Chaney Inc., Seattle, Wash.

Service contractors are using management software for standard payroll, invoicing and tracking inventory, Mathews says. "However, a main concern is managing their service operation. "In July, if there's a client with air conditioning out, you might want to change someone's schedule," he points out. "And you definitely want to invoice people promptly and capture the data in the field."

Recognizing a market need, Dexter + Chaney is developing a component that will fully integrate with its Forefront construction management software and tie in with dispatching. Currently undergoing testing, the dispatching software should be available in September. The technician would have a computer in the field loaded with the Windows CE system. (Computer options vary from small palmheld to large keyboard, depending on the user's requirements.)

The software allows the technician to input job information at the site, thus capturing information such as job hours and materials used. Since the technician is connected to the office, his status can be checked and changed if needed. Further, by capturing the information in the field, there is no need to have the information entered from technicians' notes, resulting in less time and fewer errors, Mathews points out.

"You're really going to change over time the way the technician works," he says. "The connection to the office provides a wealth of information. The technology is sophisticated enough that if there's a lost connection, when that connection is reestablished it continues on from where it left off. Also, the technician can continue to enter data and that data will be sent when reconnected."

Many of the features in the program are user-defined, he says. For example, a company could tailor the program so the technician can open a new work order or have the ability to write invoices.

Mathews foresees this dispatching component as the biggest opportunity in the wireless area. "Skilled highly paid people spending significant portions of their day on their paperwork. Now you're taking an unbillable asset and making it into a billable asset." It will increase customer service, reduce office overhead and increase cash flow by speeding up the invoicing process, he adds.

Dean Ballard, new branches and special projects, Express Pipe & Supply Inc., Culver City, Calif.

A year ago a realtor walked into Express Pipe & Supply to purchase a faucet. Ballard discovered she had searched on the Internet for supply houses within a five-mile radius carrying the product she wanted; Express was the closest location. That eye-opening purchase compelled Express Pipe & Supply to make the Internet plunge and open its Web site six months ago, Ballard says. "It's the 25- to 35-year-old plumbers that are utilizing the computer as part of their business," he reports. These computer-savvy contractors check out information on the web at night and want information e-mailed to them.

When building a Web site, check out competitors' sites and find what you like about them, Ballard advises. He found many sites "were done by college nerds" who were unaware of the needs of the plumbing contractor. "They weren't attractive to me as a plumber," he explains. "They weren't user friendly."

Designed to be personable, the Express web site lists each of its seven Southern California branches. A list of employees and their photos can be viewed along with a store location map, store hours, emergency numbers, email addresses and a photo of the branch.

Other site features include a directory, a section complete with photos detailing the wholesaler's self-service warehouse philosophy, a calendar of events, a company profile and employment opportunities. In addition, visitors can download a credit application and then email it or mail it back.

"When we first started doing this, we thought everything was amazing," Ballard reports. "After doing it awhile, we noticed patterns. You see what people are doing to bring business back into them." Learning from this, Express Pipe & Supply set up hyperlinks to manufacturers on their site, to pull visitors back into its site.

To cut down on costs and encourage customers to go online, Express Pipe & Supply is stressing the site in its bimonthly flyer, which is mailed to 8,000 Southern California plumbers. "We're trying to incorporate that if they want to check prices they can come on and plug into ecommerce," Ballard says.

The company recently purchased an Eclipse computer system with an e-commerce feature. Express Pipe & Supply first needs to set up impenetrable-enough firewalls, then it hopes to allow customers to check prices and place orders, Ballard says.

By letting customers purchase product online, a company can cut down expenses, he points out. Instead of paying a salesperson's salary and expenses, an office person can handle the account.

What has Express Pipe & Supply learned since its Internet plunge? Building a web site is easy compared to maintaining it, Ballard says. "It takes time, and you need someone to update the site." (The company has hired a full-time employee to fulfill that need.)

How does Ballard envision contractors doing business 10 to 20 years from now? "It'll be just like Home Depot except online and with a full range of products."