Not all direct deals are good deals. Most projects require numerous products from a multitude of sources. There are many factors involved in these purchases. The odds that you have negotiated the best price on every item is unlikely. Manufacturer’s salespeople get paid a higher commission percentage the higher they price their items. Even if you have negotiated the best price from manufacturer A, they may not be the best and lowest cost producer for your products. Manufacturer B or C may be far superior in product and price. The internal manpower involved with processing purchase orders, verifying acknowledgements, tracking shipments, and then processing invoices from up to 10 manufacturers is staggering.
Associated has partnerships with hundreds of domestic and global manufacturers and we work with the manufacturers that are best for your particular needs. We are able to negotiate prices based upon our standing in the industry and the consolidation of our purchases with our other clients.
We consolidate all the materials from your project on one simple proposal and one invoice…single source accountability. We do the take-offs/estimate of your plans, we place the orders, we track the shipments, and we ensure delivery to your jobsite.
Increase your staff’s productivity while your material costs are reduced by working with Associated.
Are you truly happy? Most of our clients thought they were happy too with their previous vendors until they began working with Associated. Not that their vendors were under-performing (some were, and many were adequate), but Associated has perfected national accounts over our 95+ years and 180,000 retail stores.
We work with our clients to source products that are of a higher quality at lower costs and from suppliers that are more reliable. We provide our clients with all of our Associated Advantage Services — take-offs/estimating, order tracking, delivery coordination, one proposal and invoice for the entire project — all at one cost. There are no add-on costs for all of our services.
There is no best. There is no “magic bullet” product when it comes to flooring. There is only what is best for you based upon your needs. We consult with our clients to determine what those needs are for each project.
Questions you need to ask:
- Is this decision price driven?
- What is your maintenance program and budget?
- What is the length of lease or how long do you expect this design to be in place?
- Are you a boutique or mass retailer or hotel?
- Are you inside a mall or is your foot-traffic coming directly off the street?
There are advantages and disadvantages to all flooring. Understanding your requirements allows us to help you decide what is best for you.
There is a new category of flooring in the LVT arena that is starting to flood the market – no pun intended. The claim is that the product is waterproof so there is no need to worry about water or moisture in the environment.
While this may be true from the product perspective, what some manufacturers are not telling you is what could happen to your space. If there is moisture coming up through the slab, or if the floor is flooded from above, water will get trapped under the floor. What happens when this vapor/moisture accumulates? The water and the floor is not sterile. It can grow mold and mildew. The accumulated moisture can also wick up your sheetrock walls and they too can start to degrade or mildew.
We believe that ignoring the source of the moisture by using a waterproof floor is not the panacea these manufacturers are claiming it to be.
There are a lot of good general contractors. Sometimes they use the same flooring subcontractor, other times they bid. In the past 16 months, I’ve been asked to provide flooring bids on 980 projects, ALL UNSOLICITED, ALL VIA EMAIL, ALL FROM GC’S THAT I DO NOT KNOW AND DO NOT KNOW US. If we were the lowest bidder, we’d get most of these jobs. So, I ask you, how would they know if we are any good? I didn’t bid any of these, but someone did, and someone was the lowest bidder. Was the flooring adhered properly? Was the subfloor prepped properly? Were the materials acclimated and did they check the slab for issues of moisture?
All of these factors, and many more, can decrease the life of your flooring significantly, and your flooring is one item that takes the full use and abuse of your customers. Replacing flooring in an open store, even at night, is a daunting and expensive undertaking.
In the words of John Glenn when asked about how he felt at t-10 seconds before launch:
“‘I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of 2 million parts — all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract”.
Don’t go to the lowest bidder – it costs you more in the long run. We’ve installed flooring in over 180,0000 retail stores without delaying an opening. We provide a 2-year warranty on installation workmanship. Our client retention is measured in decades, not by a project. Are you getting that from your floor sub or general contractor?