Imagine you are a slab of stone, say Calacatta. Do you know all the way you will travel alonge the marble and granite chain, from the quarry until you become a kitchen countertop?
In our previous post, we talked about how using an All-in-one system can actually help your business make money, instead of using multiple different software. You cut costs, centralize information, save time that can be spent producing, among other reasons.
We recommend you check that blog, it will surely help your stone business!
SlabWare is present in each step of that process, cause it is the only software designed to fit in the entire supply chain in the stone industry.
In this blog, we’re going to explore the entire process, from how a slab arrives at a kitchen, and show you how SlabWare is the system on the market that fits it all.
1 – Exporter – the extraction and bundle formation
Alright, so the first thing an exporter does is to extract the block, right? Wrong!! Sometimes they might buy it. Whatever your case is, for this scenario, let’s assume our piece of slab will be extracted directly from the quarry.
You are going to register a new block, with the slabs you produced after you cut it, and with all the costs you had to produce them. As simple as that. And you’ll have the cost controlled the whole time.
Next, with the block already cut into slabs and the slab registered into your system, it is going to be shown on your website, which is already linked to your SlabWare. This way, your customers can see the materials you work with and the slabs you have available.
So a customer purchases one of the slabs you put on sale. How can you see that? A new order will be opened in your system.
Won’t I get lost? – You might be thinking.
That is exactly where the CRM comes in. Use it to manage the activities you have to do for your customer. Better call him before? Or send an e-mail? Or maybe you have already sent the e-mail and is waiting for feedback? SlabWare suits your workflow and your needs!
You can use the CRM to manage the tasks you have to do with each customer, or to control in which stage of the sales process they are currently.
Now, when that order is finalized and you send the shipment, the system will also generate the documents you need to send to your customer.
You can send him the Invoice document and the Packing List that will be automatically generated through the system, which will be used as importing documents to pass the products through customs.
2 – Distributor – the mediators
As a Distributor, the first thing you do when you buy some materials is to insert them into the system.
And with SlabWare, it is very easy to do that, mainly if you’re buying from an Exporter who also uses SlabWare. He can simply generate a Key that you’ll copy and paste into your system, and all the data from your orders will be automatically imported into your own system!
No risk of errors, no manual calculations, no headaches.
Now, if you haven’t bought your materials from an Exporter who uses SlabWare, you’ll have a bit more work, but still, not that much to worry about.
Similar to the Exporter version, you will use your Inventory tool to insert the materials into the system.
The difference is that, while on the Exporter version, the Costs control is done right inside the bundle page, in the Distributor version, you have a specific Containers control area where you will have all the records of containers you’ve had.
Back to our little slab:
You, the distributor, get a Container, and then the Exporter adds those slabs inside that container. Still on the Exporter role, he’ll send you the exporting documents through email.
You’ll register that container, its cost, and the products you’ve purchased together with our little slab: the total costs will be registered in the system.
Exactly like in the Exporter version, there is also a CRM in the Distributor version, which has been specially developed for the stone industry.
You can use it to manage your customers – Fabricators: the tasks you do for them (calls, meetings, sent e-mails, etc), the sales pipeline, and the stage where each prospect is.
That way, there is a particular Fabricator with whom you are prospecting and negotiating, who has an interest in that slab.
You move it along the flow in your Sales Pipeline. When you receive the container, with the slabs in hand, you check your CRM to see if you have sent the e-mail to that prospect – you haven’t, so now you will do it.
With that e-mail sent, the customer confirms the order, and you register that order in the system.
You send the order with the slabs to your customer through email, and when he says that everything is ready, you send him the Invoice and Packing List.
3 – Now, let’s get to the Fabricators: how do they handle their business with SlabWare?
💡Same as the Distributor, you, Fabricator, can also use the Key generated by the Distributor who sold you materials to automatically import all the order’s materials and products to your SlabWare.
As a Fabricator, your flow starts a little bit differently, since you probably don’t work with materials in your inventory. If you do, it is pretty much the same:
Whenever you order materials and close a deal, you’ll receive an Invoice and a Packing List with everything you bought.
You can use those documents to insert the materials, including our specific slab, into your system.
Now, if you don’t work with stock, your flow will be different:
A homeowner gets in contact and starts quoting a countertop. Type of material, thickness, finish, faucets, sinks, number of countertops…
You take the measurements and open Drawing on SlabWare.
Here you will draw the layouts, add the edge profiles, add the materials to preview, cutouts for sinks or cooktops, and adjust which services you will price or not.
💡SabWare is the ONLY system that allows you to add EACH AND EVERY edge profile you work with.
You can check the video below to see how quickly a countertop can be drawn. It takes less than 2 minutes – if you’re not a so experienced user, maybe 5 minutes?
Right after your drawing is ready, you’ll generate a quote for this customer.
Here is the deal: the customer asks for discounts, and what can you do to lower the price?
But then you’re not certain if you are reaching your profit goals. Or even if you can give any discounts without losing all the profit.
💡 But it won’t happen if you use SlabWare!
You can see exactly how much profit you’re making in each sale, with the materials and services you’re offering.
By now, you can easily see that you’re making enough profit on the kitchen project with our special slab, so you give the homeowner a little discount to make him even happier.
You send him the quote by e-mail – the system does it directly on your quote page – and he approves it.
💡 And now you can proceed to start working on the slab.
When the quote gets approved, an Invoice is generated, and you can start fabricating: measuring, cutting, polishing…
What if I told you can calendarize all of that?
And what if I told you the system does that automatically?
That is right! You can previously set up the workflow you have when producing a new project, and every time you start a new project, you can use one of those, and the system will automatically create all the steps of your project, and all the intervals in between, both producing and waiting.
Check it out:
And this is how it is reflected on your calendar:
And is it possible to have software for the entire granite chain in the same place?
💡 Yes! SlabWare is specially developed for you, a stone business owner, and has 3 versions to embrace the whole stone supply chain.
Whether you are a stone exporter, a distributor, or a countertop fabricator, you don’t need to waste money and be a hostage to the market anymore!
Cut costs, make your workflow more efficient, and do more by spending less.
Get in touch with our team now to learn more, or start a free trial right now!
