The importance of working with the right supplier

By Emma Peterson. 

Wendy Marvin explains how a strong roofer-supplier relationship is game changing. 

Roofing is a challenging business to succeed in, with contractors needing to navigate everything from insurance policies to evolving building codes and more. But one thing that can make it a little easier to operate as a roofer is having the right supplier relationships. To learn more about this, Megan Ellsworth hosted Wendy Marvin of Matrix Roofing for an episode of Stories from the Roof.  

Wendy and Matrix are coming up on their 20th anniversary in business and looking back at those two decades in operation, Wendy highlighted the importance of the support of their long-term roofing supplier, ABC Supply. She explained, “Even as large as they are, ABC has done things for me that have really helped our company...We’ve had some business hurdles we've had to overcome, and they've been behind us every time.” 

One example of how ABC Supply has backed Matrix comes from 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Wendy shared:  

During the COVID shut down we had jobs open but weren’t able to work. And we called ABC and told them straight, ‘Look, we don't know if we're going to make our payment this month.’ And they took it in stride, telling us ‘Okay, no problem, just stay in contact with us and let us know how things go.’ And it just showed how invaluable that relationship was to us. You can’t put a dollar value on that type of support. 

Her advice for other contractors wanting this type of close and supportive relationship with their supplier? Remember, it’s a two-way street. She elaborated, “It's two-sided, when you show respect, then it’s likely to be reciprocated. If you don’t show the care and respect you want, you won’t get it back. Take the time to get to know the people, from your rep to the person that's in finance. You have to have caring from both sides to build a relationship.” 

Listen to the whole episode to learn more about building a strong relationship with your supplier.