In recent years, Lehman Pipe & Plumbing Supply has really embraced new technology – not just to help with delivery, but all facets of their business. For example, they have a point-ofsales system at their counter. That system tracks wait times, service times, the amount of customers at the counter at any given point of the day, even the types of customers who are coming in and when. The company takes that data and uses it to better service their customers – for example, they make sure that more team members are staffing the counter during peak times, and they change the products available at the counter to account for what most customers are looking for. “Technology is a really big thing for us,” Josh says. “We’ve invested heavily in it, but we think it’s worth it.” Embracing technology DECEMBER 2023 THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AMERICA - SOUTH a crane. Their software then automatically routes the trucks in a way that will meet those customer’s needs. “Wedon’t routeour trucksbased on the best possible route to conserve gas and mileage,” Josh explains. “We route them to accommodate our customer’s needs. We spend more on delivery and we spend more on gas than the majority of our competitors, because we’re not as concerned with our efficiency as we’re concerned about the customer’s needs and requirements.” Lehman Pipe’s system drastically reduces potential issues with delivery and it makes it hard for their team to make mistakes. Of course, mistakes do still happen on rare occasions – their team is still human, after all. On those occasions, Dennis believes that they further set themselves apart from the competition: “When we make a mistake, it becomes our top priority to get the order corrected,” Dennis says. “If possible, we get it resolved that same day, if not, the following morning. We’ll send out a truck direct. We’ll use Uber if we have to. We’ll do whatever it takes to correct the problem and make sure the customer is taken care of.”
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