The commercial flooring industry has enjoyed incredible demand over the last few years. Despite the relationship stressing price increases (which came in many creative iterations) and scarcity of flooring products, flooring contractor sales teams were able to build significant backlogs.
At Starnet, we have been working with our members to apply resources developing their talented associates, utilize information technology in the office and mechanical technology in the field to increase productivity and have a plan for the impact of artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) plans require calculated use inside member companies before disruptive new entrants use AI for asymmetric competitive advantages against our membership. They must also have a clear understanding which local clients (end-user institutions, not general contractors) may be at risk when the waves of creative destruction generated by AI deployment in the client world start to take hold. When members are ready to negotiate sales, there had better be a healthy company on the other side of the negotiation opportunity.