Use Technology To Enhance Profit And Productivity

• Accessing complete contact data on all clients and prospects;
• Having all major vendor specification/pricing catalogs mounted on the platform;
• Providing accurate estimating of projects, including access to a labor database;
• Accessing a complete photo library of vendor products;
• Generating specifications and contracts for customization;
• Electronic ordering of all products and services for quick and accurate tracking;
• Integrating with Quickbooks for accurate financial performance reports;
• Scheduling of installations, job completions and warranty work;
• Generating reports to measure marketing and sales designer performance;
• Determining your break-even point per month; generating accurate cash flow forecasts.

There’s a wealth of automated programs that can help you to apply technology to make your business run better, streamline your operations and build your bottom line.

It’s been my experience that many progressive kitchen/bath dealers who have done extensive technology research report that despite the abundance of programs out there, there is nothing that addresses all of the functions listed above in a single, industry-specific program. Indeed, one of the challenges with automation in our industry is the piecemeal nature of it, i.e. many firms will use one program for client relationship management and another for production scheduling.

However, I do know today of a complete and affordable management software program under development exclusively for this industry that will debut in Spring 2013. For more details, those interested may contact me at kpeterson@sendesign.com.

Ken Peterson, CKD, LPBC, is president of the Chapel Hill, NC-based SEN Design Group and an instructor for “Best Business Strategies For 2012: Competing & Thriving In The New Economy” seminar that is co-produced by KBDN. Peterson can be reached at 1-800-991-1711 or kpeterson@sendesign.com.