ProDealer: industry summit issue

Home Channel News, Sept 22, 2008

The building materials supply chain has always been in flux, as builders and their suppliers try to move products as quickly and as cheaply as possible. While the housing slowdown has dramatically reduced the volume of products changing hands, builders now have the time to step back and re-evaluate their entire operation. Large home builders are talking to their vendors about value engineering, "open-book" bids and other no-longer radical ways of doing business.

It's a whole new playbook, and everyone in the supply chain is looking for the signals. One of the best sources of information is the builders themselves, and two studies published earlier this year dive deep into their supply chain practices and purchasing habits. The lead researchers on these studies, Ed Hudson of the National Association of Home Builder Research Center and William Whiddon of Building Technology Incorporated, will both give presentations at the ProDealer Industry Summit in Chantilly, Va. They will also join a panel discussion entitled "The Supply Chain Revolution" on Oct. 3, along with Tony Callahan, senior vp-national purchasing, planning & design for Beazer Homes, and Paul Hylbert, CEO of ProBuild Holdings.