Distribution is key in the metal roofing industry. As metal roofing becomes more popular, demand for high-quality materials grows. The challenge can be answering that demand and ensuring materials can reach all corners of the country. Partnering with the right metal roofing suppliers, and building relationships with various distributors, could be a solution.
Since Sheffield Metals has been in business, we’ve built lasting relationships with our customers, providing trusted metal roofing materials, including coils, sheets, and accessories to the market while also creating content that educates those in the industry. We’ve learned how to best approach distribution in the metal roofing industry and know how to craft an effective supply chain to meet the demand of our market.
In this article, we’ll discuss how Sheffield Metals partners with distributors to get metal to every corner of the United States. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have a better understanding of how distribution works within the metal roofing industry and how it benefits customers.
How Do Metal Roofing Distribution Partnerships Work?
The United States is expansive, and getting metal roofing materials to the far reaches of the country can prove difficult. While Sheffield Metals does have regional shops stocked with supplies they can ship locally, some locations make it very challenging to deliver high-quality products efficiently.
Developing relationships with distribution partners in these regions is crucial to maintaining that level of efficiency and continuing to provide metal roofing materials to meet demand.
The Sheffield Metals team spends time making sure the distributor they’re working with is knowledgeable about our products. This includes teaching them about the testing and engineering we offer, helping them navigate their regional metal roofing market, and ensuring they’re up to date on the latest popular materials and accessories.
By offering our expertise and educational resources, and supporting distributors just as we would contractors, we’re able to forge a beneficial partnership that lasts.
How Does Working with Metal Roofing Distributors Benefit Customers?
Partnering with distributors has obvious benefits for Sheffield Metals, including expanding our markets and reaching a broader customer base. Working with these distributors also offers advantages for many of our customers, including distributors, contractors, and property owners.
Distributors
Sheffield Metals is looking to do more than just drop our products on the distributor’s floor. Our expert team can provide technical help and arm distributors with the knowledge to sell products and provide in-depth information to customers.
We also have an in-depth knowledge of the metal roofing markets in various regions; wherever you’re located, we can help tailor your orders for specific areas and help forecast where the market is headed, letting you stock up on the right materials and soften the blow if the steel market gets volatile.
The steel market is constantly changing — finding a trusted, reliable partner in the industry can help stabilize your business and the metal roofing market in your area, cushioning you from instability.
Contractors
Metal roofing contractors can also benefit significantly as a product of Sheffield Metals’ partnerships with distributors:
- Networking opportunities: Sheffield Metals has built up a strong network over the years, as we’ve worked with countless companies and built relationships with key players in the metal roofing industry. We can easily connect contractors to innovative companies like New Tech Machinery, which sells rollforming machines and can help contractors take their business to the next level.
- Local access to quality products: Running short on materials on job sites can be a significant issue for contractors. Having a local shop with the products they need within thirty minutes instead of six hours is a huge advantage that offers solutions to many common problems for contractors. It can also help contractors work with more ease, as they know they can run to pick up more materials from their local shop should anything happen.
- Decreased lead times: Working with a distributor cuts down on lead times significantly, as a local shop stocks products and can ship them when needed, instead of Sheffield having to ship out from potentially hours away when an order is placed.
Property Owners
Distributors will typically order in bulk to stock their floor. This allows us to work with pricing and make materials more affordable in those areas, which in turn creates a more competitive market and drives down costs, benefitting home and property owners looking to install a metal roof.
Likewise, partnering with distributors allows us to bring quality metal products to those who normally wouldn’t have access to them. As metal roofing becomes increasingly popular, it’s more critical than ever to find a trusted supplier with products you can trust. By working with distributors, Sheffield Metals can offer homeowners and building owners premium materials and bring their designs to life.
What Areas Are Best for Partnerships with Metal Roofing Distributors?
Sheffield Metals is looking to expand its distributor base throughout the country, but some areas are more suited for distribution than others.
The most beneficial situations for distribution are in those areas that Sheffield Metals can’t service efficiently. Some of the most in-demand products in the metal roofing industry, for instance, are flat sheets — many distributors can benefit from stocking these products to service the market where SMI would be less efficient selling them order by order.
How Can Contractors Find a Sheffield Metals Distributor?
The easiest way for contractors to find a Sheffield Metals distributor is to call the branch nearest to you. We have strong relationships with our distributors nationwide, so we’ll be able to point you to exactly who to call based on the region you’re located in.
How Does Sheffield Metals Select New Distributors?
Choosing a new distributor will primarily be determined by the particular area and whether it’s the right location to begin working with someone there. Once Sheffield Metals decides to start working with a distributor, there’s still a lot of work to be done before we actually ship products there.
For example, sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to buy three or four truckloads of materials from the start. Instead, the partnerships typically start with finding out what the local market is like — hitting the streets and talking to local contractors to see what items are hot, what products are moving, and which ones aren’t. Then, we can build a stocking program based on that specific feedback.
Having stocked materials on a shop floor is a huge advantage and will help get a lot of business quickly. But it’s important to choose the right materials, using market research and real testimonials from local contractors, to figure out what materials would be best suited for the demand for that unique area.
Looking to Work with a Trusted Metal Roofing Supplier?
Trust is integral when it comes to working with different suppliers and distributors in the metal roofing industry. This is true for distributors and contractors alike — distributors want to know that their customers won’t get poached, and contractors want to know they can access technical information about the products they’re buying from a reliable supplier.
At Sheffield Metals, we understand how important trust can be in those relationships. That’s why we’re committed to helping distributors every step of the way, providing the proper training and education to set them up for success.
Whether you’re a distributor looking to partner with Sheffield Metals or a metal roofing contractor looking for the closest distributor near you, feel free to contact your local branch to get the right information.
