America’s largest building products distributor, BlueLinx, struggled with the materials management service it used. Shipments were missed, marketing materials were lost, and customer complaints mounted. After a recommendation from a supplier, Marketing Specialist Jodi Foster contacted Davis Direct for a materials management program that could get her team what they needed, when they needed it.

Our solution centered on our inventory web portal site for BlueLinx. Of course, for the portal to work, our warehouse inventory of BlueLinx materials has to be accurate, down to each individual piece. With a quick login, Jodi can now track inventory, run reports by product code, and know how much of something is being used. When she calls to place an order, we can usually ship it within two hours.

“I can’t say enough about Davis,” says Jodi, adding that one of the best benefits of the site is that she can see where marketing materials are at her convenience. No longer does BlueLinx spend days or weeks—and the money involved—to sift through inaccurate spread sheets. “It’s incredible,” enthuses Jodi. “I used to spend five to seven hours a week trying to manage inventory, plus another hour dealing with problems and complaints. Our sales people used to call five times a week with problems. We almost never get those calls now.”

Davis handles materials management duties for BlueLinx and nearly 75 percent of its printing needs. According to Jodi, “Everything works seamlessly. And we’re saving thousands of dollars as well as time. It’s so convenient to have it all together, and we don’t have to pay for freight when moving a project from printing into materials management.”