Why Home Depot thinks this new digital tool will help boost its pro business
Home Depot is rolling out a new project planning tool in its latest effort to win more business from professional contractors.
The Vinings-based home improvement retailer said Tuesday it has launched a free digital platform to help builders and other tradespeople plan, manage and execute complex projects.
It comes as the company competes for the regular spending of contractors, especially as do-it-yourself customers shy away from larger home renovation projects because of high interest rates and economic uncertainty.
Today, about half of Home Depot’s business is from contractors, Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO, said at a retailing conference earlier this month.
“The value we’re offering is we can simplify their business,” Decker said.
The average contractor may use 10 or more suppliers on one job, said Ben Quigley, Home Depot’s senior director of pro sales marketing and digital experiences.
But Home Depot thinks it can earn a larger share of the project by simplifying tasks such as ordering and delivery, he said.
“For so many pros, they’ve looked at us as a convenience store,” Quigley said in an interview Monday. But Home Depot wants to be the partner where they plan the whole job, he said.
“We carry all the supplies necessary to build a home or to do a remodel, and so we’re working really hard to stand up the services that they expect, and they have gotten from wholesale providers in the past,” Quigley said.
Home Depot has already spent billions in its quest to better serve the pro.
Earlier this month, it finalized its $5.5 billion acquisition of Tucker-based GMS Inc., a distributor of specialty building products including drywall, ceilings and steel framing. Last year, it paid $18.3 billion to buy SRS Distribution, a specialty trade distributor of roofing, landscaping and pool supplies.
The company has also ramped up other capabilities geared toward the pro, including offering trade credit and sales support. It’s invested in flatbed distribution centers to boost delivery services.
The offerings are meant to entice larger contractors who are “spending their principal purchases with wholesale distribution,” Decker said at the retailing conference.
He said that pro customer won’t buy “a window package on a Visa card three months before it’s delivered” or “come and pick up a truckload of shingles” but require those items be delivered to the job site.
“So we set about to build the capabilities to capture more share of wallet with that customer,” Decker said.
With the new project planning tool, pros can create material lists for their projects, which they can organize by phases or particular rooms. They can track orders and set personalized delivery preferences. The platform also offers visibility into early pricing and inventory so a contractor can provide accurate estimates to its customers, Home Depot says.
“When we think about what we’re really trying to deliver to pros, it’s time,” Quigley said. “Time is money to pros.”
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