How Vendor Visits Enhance Trust and Transparency for Wholesale Building Materials Suppliers

As a full-service building materials wholesaler, one of our core values is putting our people and our partners first. Whether it’s our mills and suppliers providing the products we sell, our customers looking for the best products at the best prices, or the carriers who deliver the lumber and steel across the country, we’re in the business of building strong, symbiotic relationships. In today’s blog, you’ll learn more about vendor visits and how they enhance trust and transparency so that we can better serve all our partners.

Supplier Visits

As one of the largest trading floors in North America, it’s no surprise that we’ve put a considerable amount of time and effort into cultivating strong relationships with our mills and suppliers. Some of this comes naturally from our team’s commitment to connecting suppliers with buyers. Some of this comes from our team’s knowledge and experience, which we confidently share at every step of the process. And some of it comes from our dedication to meet our suppliers exactly where they are—at their own headquarters.

In fact, our number one priority is to regularly get out and visit our suppliers so that we can better understand their needs, solve any issues that arise, and come up with ways to continually improve our partnership. When we take the time to visit lumber mills and other building materials suppliers, we leave with a more comprehensive view of their wants, needs, and processes. We see the facilities where they’re milling lumber, how they store inventory, and what pain points exist throughout the entire operation.

Our traders and admin team then use this information to pinpoint areas where there’s room for improvement in how we work together. We chat over dinners and golf games, discussing the ever-changing market and strategies that can help facilitate growth, decrease costs, and reduce friction. After each visit, our relationship with the client grows, as does our commitment to serving them.

Customer Visits

It’s not just our suppliers who we make it a point to visit. Our traders make it a point to get out and visit our customers throughout the year. By visiting our customers across the country, we get a chance to see the nitty gritty of how their business works, giving us a better understanding of their business from their point of view.

Not only can we better understand their unique needs after touring their facilities and sitting down with different members of their team, but it also gives us the opportunity to share knowledge, give personalized recommendations, and discover ways we can better serve them. The more in-depth knowledge we have of our customers’ operations, the more personalized the solutions we can offer them.

At the end of the day, our partners are what matter, and our customer visits give us a chance to put our money where our mouth is and show them just how much we value our relationship and how committed we are to strengthening it.

Reload, Ports & Carrier Visits

Product is important, but so are our relationships with our distribution partners. Because we team up with reloads, ports, and carriers to help facilitate building materials delivery, our traders and admin team make time to visit them throughout the year.

Reload and port visits typically consist of touring their facilities to better understand how they run. We also make it a point to check in on lumber and steel that has been purchased, delivered, or is currently waiting in inventory. These visits also give our team an opportunity to have productive talks to find out how we can better serve each other and to strengthen the bond and relationship we have built.

In addition to these reload and port visits, our team also visits different carriers to go on transportation ride-alongs. These visits involve riding with truckers on their routes so that they can better understand what a typical delivery day look likes. These visits also highlight the importance of different processes, give team members more appreciation for truck drivers, and build trust with our transportation partners.

As a wholesale building materials supplier, we’re committed to each and every one of our partners. Whether you’re looking to buy bulk lumber and steel products, unload excess inventory, or better understand our business, AIFP can help. In the meantime, check out our blog where we cover the benefits of working with a wholesale lumber supplier and how AIFP traders can help your business thrive.