With the residential solar installation market booming, your business is likely busier than ever. This uptick in sales doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon: Through 2032, homeowners can save up to 30 percent on solar installations due to federal tax credits. State and local tax incentives are also encouraging more solar installations. While that’s great news for your business plans, it can also cause headaches. Keeping supplies on hand to meet growing demand is hard enough, but trying to manage costs and grow your business adds more worries — and hours — to your day. Yet these are important factors to consider when building your strong bottom line.
The secret to success often lies in the relationships you build with your distributors. Even though your current method for making it all come together might be getting the job done day to day, there could be a more efficient way. Single-source suppliers like ABC Supply offer another path to acquiring your solar installation materials — one that helps you cut costs and eliminate your worries about price fluctuations, ordering, storage and delivery.
Here are five ways you can save both time and money by partnering with an all-in-one distributor.
1. Single-Source Supplying: For decades, professional roofers have gotten ahead by using close relationships with distributors to their advantage. Now, that same advantage is available to solar installers by simply choosing a single-source provider like ABC Supply. We carry a complete solar roofing system — including panels, racking, inverters, storage equipment, accessories and roof-integrated solar shingles — along with our extensive inventory of steep- and low-slope roofing products. Our reliable stock from the top manufacturers in renewable energy and roofing goes through rigorous vetting processes to ensure that you’re offering and installing only the best products for your clients.
2. On-Demand Delivery: When you get the all-clear on your permits and are ready to roll, ABC Supply provides delivery to your jobsite and can customize orders to deliver only the products you need at different project stages. That saves you a nice chunk of change on up-front materials costs, warehousing overhead and labor. Just like we do for roofers, ABC Supply offers solar installers ground drop delivery and rooftop delivery in select markets. Bringing these services into your business can build efficiencies into your project timeline — and save you on overhead costs. Your local ABC Supply branch can share more about the solar delivery options available to you. Find your nearest branch here.
3. Warehousing Space: If you’re like most contractors, storage space is at a premium in your business. You don’t have a lot of extra room to store materials that you may not need for a while, but you may be keeping a lot on hand as you work to source materials for upcoming projects. If you can’t or don’t want to take a full container of product, ABC Supply’s locations stock materials. We’ll also deliver the “job-lot quantities” needed, saving you time, overhead costs and uncertainty.
4. Account Management: Another advantage of teaming up with a distributor to support your business is the additional resources beyond material distribution and delivery. ABC Supply is committed to being a true partner to our customers. That’s why we offer credit for you, solar in-home financing for homeowners and an online order management tool called myABCsupply.
-
Credit for you: Our Customer Financial Services department gives you convenient access to lines of credit* and easy access to the financial information and benchmarking you need to grow your business. (*Lines of credit are based on creditworthiness.)
- In-home financing for homeowners: We teamed up with GoodLeap to give you access to simple, fast and flexible loans for homeowners that cover a variety of solar projects.
- myABCsupply: Our order management tool, myABCsupply, helps ABC Supply support you wherever you go. You can even easily track your delivery statuses to keep your customers and team in the know. Learn more and download the app at com.
5. The Solar Installer-Roofer Relationship: If you’re a solar installer looking to expand your business, consider adding roofing to your portfolio — or partnering with a roofer. A homeowner might need a new roof before installing a solar system if theirs is more than 10 years old. Adding solar while getting a new roof not only saves time, but it ensures the roof remains waterproof. It also gives you the opportunity to offer one warranty for both systems — a key selling point for potential clients. As a solar installer, you can deepen relationships with your customers when you educate them about their systems and the maintenance that comes along with solar.
During this solar business boom, you’ll need every minute of your workday to make the most of the opportunities on the table and find crucial cost savings. Relying on a single-source distributor like ABC Supply helps make that possible. We take worries off your plate through our planning, account management, logistics support and stocked inventory.
With over 40 years of expertise in roofing distribution, ABC Supply is ready to support you as you serve the growing rooftop solar market. Driven by our company’s Core Values of Respect and Entrepreneurial Spirit, ABC Supply partners with solar installers like you to make it easy to reduce project costs, remove the friction and grow their businesses. Reach out to your local ABC Supply branch and start saving time and money today!
The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information provided is in good faith, and is not intended as a substitute for obtaining accounting, tax, legal, or financial advice for a professional accountant or lawyer. Any opinions expressed are those of the author. ABC Supply makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding, the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information provided herein. Any questions regarding the information provided should be addressed to the author.