It is no longer enough for distributors simply to supply products. The aim today is to solve customers' problems - which can mean a total design and technical support solution for the contractor. Pipe Center's Roger Hoskins is pioneering a new approach.
Roger Hoskins loves his job. As heating business development manager for Pipe Center he gets involved in some of the most technically challenging and interesting projects in the UK.
'As the 'middleman' in the project team, we often find ourselves acting as the glue,' he says.
'We are close to the manufacturer, and have a detailed understanding of the technology issues. We are also close to the contractor, our customer, which gives us an excellent insight into the application needs on specific projects.'
This provides a unique perspective, he believes, enabling problems to be identified and solved, and opportunities to do things better put forward at an early stage, before critical decisions and investments are made.
The approach recently helped secure a number of care home projects with a contractor who had previously worked with a competitor. The initial contribution was a proposal for a package centred around the plant room, with guidance on design implementation and product selection.
The contractor then involved the consultant, who approved the material design and product selection. Roger Hoskins then put forward a full proposal for contract support and technical back-up.
'This kind of end-to-end solution addresses the concerns of the customer at every stage. It gives a comfort factor throughout the project, and the assurance that the solution will not only work, but deliver exactly as promised for the ultimate customer.'
On the ground, the team approach includes local Pipe Center staff, who provide back-up to installers and contractors at individual sites across the country. Upstream, it embraces preferred manufacturers who feed in expert product and technical support to ensure proposed solutions are effective.
Roger reports that the priority for contractors remains delivering projects on time and on budget. However, equally important is providing clients with quality solutions that leave a good impression, in order to enhance a contractor's reputation and secure future work.
With the recent slowdown in construction activity, this is a key issue and there is pressure for contractors to offer customers more in order to win projects.
Perhaps as a result, there is an accelerating trend towards electrical and air conditioning contractors developing mechanical departments, and facilities management specialists keeping mechanical contracts in-house rather than sub-contracting projects.
In response to trade convergence Pipe Center has introduced core electrical ranges into its mechanical and air conditioning offering, enabling contractors to source all components from a single supplier, making life easier and the procurement process simpler.
The rise of sustainability, and the introduction of heating systems with multiple energy sources and alternative means of heat generation, means a wide range of skills are required today to design and install new solutions. This offers a further opportunity for collaborative working and means that technical back-up is key to successful projects
Another side-effect of current market conditions is an emphasis on economy of effort in the tendering process. Larger mechanical contractors are reported to be returning only around 60per cent of tenders, due to focusing resource on contracts they feel they can win.
'As a result of these pressures, our customers are looking for value all the way through the contract, from initial estimating right through to project commissioning,' Roger says.
There are five key stages in this project process, each requiring a different level of technical input and support.
The awareness stage is when a contractor has an opportunity to win a contract. 'At this stage, we would look to provide input such as re-engineering options or equal/approved products to assist our customer in being successful in winning the project.'
In particular, this would include an assessment of the potential contribution of added value services, such as offsite Modular Engineering and pipe fabrication.
Once the contractor has secured the project, the process moves into the information stage. Here, all preliminary ideas, including initial design drawings, are brought together with the customer to discuss and clarify restrictions and options.
The third stage is evaluation. Specialists from both Pipe Center and preferred suppliers provide detailed technical input in order to make product selections to ensure precise project requirements are met.
Tailored project package
'The next step is the decision. The result is a tailored project package, often including added value elements such as offsite fabrication or modular units that our competitors will be unaware of and, in most cases, unable to deliver.'
Including such elements can enable installers to handle the whole project themselves, without having to sub-contract part of the package to others, a key business benefit in the current climate.
Finally, at the conclusion stage, the contractor evaluates the effectiveness and value of the total solution offered, including products, services, information and support.
Roger Hoskins says: 'As a result of this approach, contractors increasingly come to us at an early stage in potential projects for help and advice. They see us as a project partner rather than simply a distributor.'
He was recently involved in an animal hospital project that had ample planning time but a short install time. There was also a strict requirement for a reduction in noise and disruption on site.
Roger's team came up with an offsite modular solution, assembled at Pipe Center's Modular Engineering facility in Worcester. It included all corridor pipework and electrics incorporated in a frame.
He worked with preferred suppliers to offer plant room equipment pre-assembled on frames, plus equal or approved options to save time and installation costs.
This solution, although higher in capital cost, represented real value for the contractor as it fully met the requirements of the job, achieved the tight time constraints, and delivered genuine innovation and quality for the client.
On another project, the company worked with a contractor's design team to produce a solution for solar hot water generation, as an alternative to the original specification.
'We collaborated with a preferred supplier to finalise product selection and add value. The contractor deemed the solution more suitable for the project, and opted for the improved efficiency and controllability we engineered in.'
What are the essential ingredients for the approach to be successful? 'It requires close co-operation and information exchange to work. These factors, relationships and information sharing, are critical. If you get it right, it results in a highly productive partnership that can deliver exceptional results - with benefits for everyone in the chain. Not least for the end user.
'With cost and environmental pressures increasing all the time, I believe it is the way to deliver greater value and higher quality, more efficient buildings in the future.'