For the building industry!?

Question

Have you ever found that big suppliers take too long to deliver materials? Have you found yourself having to wait 2-3 days for them to deliver, meaning you get behind in the job?

What if there was a company out there willing to pick up and deliver the materials, the same day, for a reasonable fee? Would you be prepared to do it?

Answer 1

If ordered by 4.00pm, Travis Perkins will deliver next day subject to adequate stock. I do not work for them but have been a customer for many years.

Answer 2

I have been engineering and selling mechanical (heating and a/c) equipment for 10+ years. Our standard lead times go anywhere from 4-6 weeks for fan coil units to 14-16 weeks for chillers to 28 weeks for custom equipment. It is funny, all of the contractors are told these lead times so many times, but it is always wait wait wait and then they need it yesterday. I have people willing to pay quick ship fees everyday to get things faster.

I think it would be a viable business idea.  

Answer 3

As a structural engineer, you design with materials availability in mind or to the contractors methodology.

its the Quantity Surveyors and programe managers job to ensure delivery of materials, if not source them from another supplier.

Materials are delivered generally in time, to project dates and at a minimum fee. Additional costs would increase budgets or savings taken from elsewhere. Namely, employ a foreign national at lower wages.  

Answer 4

How about you manage the job by predicting when you'll need the materials and ordering them 2/3 days in advance of that?