TradeCOMM™ is a powerful communication tool that enhances discussions and negotiations among builders, suppliers, and trade contractors. It helps the builders prioritize issues and needs, directing resources toward the changes that yield the greatest benefits.
Why is it important to foster a higher level of collaboration and information-sharing with the TradeCOMM feedback system?
- Trade Shortages: Securing the best trades and crews is crucial. Top crews want to work with builders who have accurate and predictable schedules, strong systems, processes, and relationships. The best trades and crews cannot be demanded; they must be earned.
- Customer Satisfaction: You cannot buy customer delight at the end of the hombuilding cycle; it must be built throughout the process. Fully engaging suppliers and trades is essential for turning basic satisfaction into a true point of delight.
- Quality, Cost & Profit: Continual improvement in product, process, and profit hinges on the active support and participation of your suppliers and trades.
Benefits
TradeCOMM is a nationwide feedback system that accurately assesses your current performance based on feedback direct from your suppliers and trades, compared with benchmarks established at yearly, company, and national levels.
15 years of successful implementations
175+ participating builders in the database
100% focused on your active suppliers and trades
The TradeCOMM package provides feedback on standard questions across six categories: Organization, Systems, Goals, Values, Feedback, and Rewards. Also included:
- Expert consulting for survey setup and distribution by the builder
- Survey results and feedback that can easily be shared with active suppliers and trade partners
- Comprehensive full-color report detailing responses to 45 questions
- Highlights of strengths and opportunities identified
- Direct feedback with verbatim responses
- Comparison of local data with national and corporate norms, as available
- Insight into prior year performance changes, when prior year(s) data is available
- Two-hour virtual meeting for executive summary and analysis
- Additional extra-cost options:
- Half-day on-site workshop for data analysis and action planning
- Full-day on-site workshop for in-depth analysis and implementation planning
Sample Report Details
The report is divided into six sections, and benchmarks are made against national norms and, when available, corporate norms. In the example above, this builder has company norms going back 5 years.
Every question on the survey is charted into color-coded graphs for easy comparison against benchmarks. This format allows for easily identifying strengths and opportunities while facilitating conversations on improving day-to-day operations.
Without the Trade Council, Paul [the plumber] and I would have never contacted each other. We never would have put our heads together to solve the problem
One of the greatest values of the Trade Council is that it creates a conduit of communication between sub-contractors that otherwise would not exist. It changes the way we all think and the way we look at the jobs. It has set me in a mode of thinking where I am constantly looking for ways to make things better, not only for myself but for other trades as well.
It’s even had the same effect on the ABC [Homes] production guys. Just the other day, the ABC Production Manager figured out a different way that I can run my ground wire to the gas bond that will
save me at least one hour of labor and about 40 feet of #6 bare copper, conservatively guessed, save me around $[100-125]/house. At the end of the year, this will increase my bottom line by at least $7000. These small items are not chump change when you add them up.
My hat is off to ABC Homes and TrueNorth. It is nice to know that a builder such as ABC cares enough about its sub-contractors during these tough times to put this program in place.