Much of what a PVF distributor sells is the same thing every week. Copper and PVC fittings, solder and flux, thread sealant and tape, hanger rod and clevis hangers, nipples and couplings, supply lines and wax rings. Plumbers and pipe fitters go through them steadily, and those orders are predictable. Yet most of them still arrive by phone, text or a walk-in at will-call.
The app gives your customers three ways to take the work out of repeat orders, and lets each customer decide how much the app should do.
Reorder: buy it again in one tap
Reorder lets a customer buy a past order again, or reorder from a saved list. A plumbing contractor building a subdivision can repeat the rough-in package from the last house, adjust the quantities and send it. A plant can repeat its monthly gasket and fitting restock. A service company can restock every truck from the same list.
AutoPilot reorder: their usual items on schedule
AutoPilot reorder keeps a customer's usual items coming on schedule so they don't run out. It uses the account's own usage over the last year. With AutoPilot on for a scan program, one scan of a bin orders a set number of days of stock based on that customer's actual use, so a busy service shop gets a couple of months' worth of the fittings it burns through instead of one box at a time.
Each customer sets the dial for how much AutoPilot does:
- Suggest: the app builds a suggested reorder, and the buyer decides what to send.
- Ask first: the app prepares the order on schedule and asks the buyer to confirm before it comes to you.
- Run on its own: the schedule the customer set up runs as they set it, on the items and quantities they chose, and they can change or stop it at any time.
Most customers start at Suggest and move along the dial as they get comfortable. The buyer always decides how it works, and you can see which accounts have AutoPilot on.
Blanket orders for jobs and contracts
Larger plumbing and mechanical jobs, and many plant and municipal contracts, run on blanket orders: agreed items and prices for a job, building or contract period, released as needed.
In the app, customers make releases against the blanket themselves. A mechanical foreman on a hospital wing can release the next floor's copper, valves and hangers from the job trailer. A water utility can release meter setters and fittings as crews need them. Everyone can see what has been released and what is left, at the contract price.
Why steady reorders are worth the effort
Repeat items are dependable business. They are rarely bid line by line, and they are exactly the orders a competitor picks off when a customer gets tired of waiting on hold or finds the branch out of stock. Getting them onto a reorder list, AutoPilot or a blanket means the customer doesn't have to think about who to call.
It helps your buyers, too. When more volume runs on steady schedules, it's easier to plan stock, fill vendor minimums and avoid emergency orders for common fittings. It also smooths out your branch: fewer contractors standing at will-call at 7 a.m. for a box of couplings, and more of your counter's time spent on the customers who need help.
See how it works with your own PVF and plumbing catalog.