Have a Direct Contact With Your Manufacturer

RCS Influencer John Sheridan says establishing a solid relationship with a manufacturer can help you with identifying lead times. 

Editor’s note: The following consists of a conversation between MCS’ Gina Cali and Sheridan Metal Resources LLC Owner John Sheridan. 

Gina Cali: How can contractors work with metal manufacturers for timely deliveries? 

John Sheridan: Okay. So my first point in regard to that question is to have a direct contact or rep at the company that you're dealing with. Establish a personal relationship with that person so they understand your company, where your strengths and weaknesses are, whether you're a commercial contractor or residential contractor, and then they can help you get tuned into a specific system. And depending on what system you choose, they can help you with lead times and identifying lead times. 

The second point is to ensure the availability of the system that you're getting pricing on. For instance, a lot of the European systems are having trouble with supply chain issues now, so some of the lead times are two to three months and a lot of people can't wait that long. So make sure that the product that you're bidding is available and in line with the expectations of your client. 

And in addition to that, identify an accurate lead time. So whatever the system is, whatever the product is, make sure that you get a lead time from the manufacturer that's realistic and you get that information to your client and make sure that they're okay with the current lead times. 

And then the last point in regards to that is to review details with the manufacturer before placing the order. This is pretty important because different systems have different components to go with those systems. And if you order a system and forget one component, it holds up the whole project. So e-flashings, rake flashings, valley flashings, any of that you should review with your rep and make sure that you both are on the same page before you place an order. And then the entire package comes and you're ready to go.  

Gina Cali: That was great. That was great, John. Excellent. Thank you.  

John Sheridan: Hope that helps. 

Gina Cali: It does actually. I love that you got into the details on the second question about the accessory components. A lot of times that's sort of an afterthought, right? And it's critical to the order for metal. So it's excellent that you got into that, thank you. 

John Sheridan: You're welcome. 

John Sheridan is the owner of Sheridan Metal Resources LLC. See his full bio here.