Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1245531
I DA U N I V E R S A L M ay -J u n e 2 0 2 0 20 My father in law is Randy Truckenbrodt, the founder of Randall Industries in Chicago and the oldest Genie dealer in the United States. I joined Randy in 2012 as the Strategic Director of US Markets, the sister company of Randall Industries. There, I learned the ins and outs of the construction equip- ment rental industry and met some wonderful people along the way. This industry is full of some of the hardest working entrepreneurs in the country, and I fell in love with that. Spending 6 years traveling the country with USM allowed me to meet all forms of suppliers. From rental companies to part suppliers to manufacturers, the pains were consistent across the board. The industry consists of thousands of great suppliers that customers cannot discover or work with online. Our family business, for instance, had a signifi cant amount of inventory sitting on our books, and we had no way of selling it. Our options included: • List through legacy sites that are diffi cult to navigate and manage. • Sell on eBay or Amazon, which are not designed for our industry and do nothing for our brand as a business. • Send it to an auction, which we try our best to avoid. • Build our own e-commerce site, which we did not have the resources for. It was blatant that there was a lack of viable options to support USM and Randall Industries while we faced increasing pressure to utilize technology and adapt to the new era of equipment buyers. Today's Buyer This new era of equipment buyers is becoming more and more prevalent in the industry. Similar to how we buy homes and cars, the new age of buyer wants self-service. In fact, according to McKinsey, 86% of business to business customers prefer self serve reordering. Buyers want to be closer to the actual purchase before contacting a salesperson more than ever before. Being able to work with trusted suppliers online has become more and more critical. The First Marketplace For Part Suppliers It became obvious to me that the industry was ready for a new platform. A platform built to support suppliers, not compete against them. We needed to create a platform that equally supports buyers and suppliers to create a healthier industry as a whole. Technology needs to enable, not replace the human element that is at the core of the industry. This is why we launched Gearfl ow.com. Gearfl ow.com is the fi rst marketplace for all things construction. We set out to develop a platform that makes it easy for customers to work with you online. Our primary goal is to enhance the buyer-supplier relationship, not interfere. To do that, we couldn't just make a typical marketplace. On Gearfl ow, you will fi nd that each supplier is equipped with their own branded storefront. On a supplier's storefront, you will fi nd information about the business, their reviews, and the inventory they have for sale. Built By Suppliers, For Suppliers A note to IDA members from Luke Powers