The Top 6 Challenges Building Material Suppliers Face — and Tech Solutions That Solve Them
Discover the key challenges building material suppliers face and the tech solutions that can help streamline operations, boost sales, and enhance customer satisfaction.
The building materials supply industry faces increasing pressure on multiple fronts. High price sensitivity, fluctuating tariffs, and the demand for faster delivery have created a highly competitive environment. But suppliers must offer more than just competitive pricing to build customer loyalty among contractors, retailers, and DIYers. In this blog, we’ll explore the top six challenges building material suppliers face and the technology solutions that can help.
Challenge #1: Siloed Data
For building material suppliers, data is often trapped in disconnected systems—CRMs, ERPs, inventory management tools, and email chains.
This fragmentation creates silos, making it impossible to get a unified view of inventory, orders, or customer behavior. And without integrated data, reporting becomes slow, leading to missed sales opportunities, excess inventory costs, and inefficient resource allocation.
Fragmented data also limits the use of tailored GenAI solutions.
The Solution: Unified Data Platforms
Salesforce Cloud streamlines and automates the entire sales process, from lead assignment to opportunity scoring.
Built into Salesforce Cloud, Salesforce CPQ automatically generates accurate quotes by leveraging data from the CRM, while Einstein AI provides intelligent insights, such as next-best actions and deal predictions, to help sales teams close deals faster and more efficiently.
Challenge #2: Slow Sales Cycles
In the building materials industry, B2B approval and quote processes are often slow and inefficient. Some of the main issues are:
- Delayed sales quotes – Contractors often wait days for pricing approvals.
- Administrative bottlenecks – Sales reps spend too much time on paperwork instead of building relationships.
- Manual errors – Mistakes in pricing and order details result in lost business.
- Missed deadlines – Slow response times push projects to faster competitors
The Solution: Salesforce Cloud
Salesforce Cloud streamlines and automates the entire sales process, from lead assignment to opportunity scoring.
Built into Salesforce Cloud, Salesforce CPQ automatically generates accurate quotes by leveraging data from the CRM, while Einstein AI provides intelligent insights, such as next-best actions and deal predictions, to help sales teams close deals faster and more efficiently.
Challenge #3: Missed Revenue Opportunities
Without a system to prompt sales reps on cross-sells and upsells, valuable opportunities are missed. Sales reps may overlook related products, like nails with lumber, or fail to upsell premium materials.
And fragmented customer data across systems prevents personalized sales, leading to missed chances for increasing revenue.
The Solution: A Complete 360-Degree View of Your Customer
A unified Customer 360 platform consolidates customer data into one system, providing a single view of each customer’s history, preferences, and behavior. This enables AI-driven recommendations for cross-selling and upselling, helping sales teams drive more revenue with personalized offers.
Challenge #4: Outdated B2B E-Commerce
Contractors and retailers expect Amazon-like digital experiences, but many building material suppliers fall short:
- Frustrating Experience: PDF catalogs instead of searchable inventories frustrate tech-savvy customers.
- Inefficient Order Processing: Manual phone and email orders create bottlenecks, while competitors offer 24/7 self-service.
- Lost Opportunities: Bulk orders stuck in email chains lead to errors and delays, driving customers to more responsive competitors.
The Solution: A Modern B2B E-Commerce Portal
A modern, user-friendly e-commerce portal designed specifically for B2B customers streamlines the ordering process, allowing customers to place orders quickly and accurately.
Features like searchable inventories, bulk ordering, and real-time order tracking enhance the customer experience and reduce the manual workload, enabling suppliers to respond more efficiently and capture more sales.
Challenge #5: Inventory & Supply Chain Inefficiencies
Poor visibility and manual processes lead to stockouts, overstocks, and wasted time in warehouses. Real-time insights are crucial to improve forecasting and streamline supply chains.
The Solution: Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility
By integrating automation, IoT, and modern warehouse management systems, suppliers can gain real-time inventory visibility and improve replenishment.
Automated restocking, AI-driven demand forecasting, and real-time tracking optimize inventory levels, reduce stockouts, and streamline operations, leading to more efficient supply chains and lower costs.
Challenge #6: Disjointed, Poor Customer Service
Delayed shipments and missing items create frustration when handled across multiple departments, leading to poor communication and slow resolutions.
The Solution: Omnichannel Customer Support
Omnichannel customer support integrates phone, chat, and field service support into one system, providing seamless, real-time customer service.
By linking customer inquiries with order and inventory systems, suppliers can resolve issues faster, improve communication, and create a more personalized experience that builds customer loyalty and satisfaction.
What Relevantz Can Do for You
At Relevantz, we help building material suppliers tackle these challenges head-on. From Customer 360 platforms to modern e-commerce portals and Salesforce Cloud implementations, we provide custom technology solutions and expertise to drive efficiency, improve customer experience, and boost revenue. Ready to build a better future for your business?