We’re seeing distributors continue to invest in software tools that streamline processes, increase capacity, and generate enhanced services … all in an effort to reduce costs and increase sales.
John Gunderson and I were at the MDM SHIFT conference last week and not only were there many technology companies ranging from companies in the eCommerce space to sales enablement, from invoice automation (I know of about 8 companies in this space) to product content management, from ERP companies to sales operations assistants … and more. Most had an AI element.
And, in talking to a number of the distributors in attendance (about 175 distributor attendees from multiple industries), many were using AI tools in their business.
Rexel, which reportedly has “much” going on from a technology viewpoint, is expanding its partnership with Parspec to support its lighting business.
Rexel and Parspec Expand Partnership to Launch Next-Generation Digital Platform for Contractors
Rexel USA, a national leader in the distribution of electrical products and Parspec, an AI-native technology company serving the construction supply chain, today announced a major expansion of their strategic partnership. Building on a year of successful digital transformation of Rexel’s internal sales and project management processes, the two companies are now joining forces to improve how Rexel collaborates with its customers by delivering a best-in-class digital platform that will enable customers to access project documents, get current order status and tracking information, and communicate with stakeholders across all of their Rexel projects in real time.
“This partnership represents a pivotal step forward in advancing Rexel’s vision to create a more efficient and connected electrical supply chain through digital innovation,” said Roger Little, CEO of Rexel USA. “Parspec has been instrumental in digitizing one of the most operationally intensive parts of our business, paving the way for our next major step: enabling seamless collaboration between contractors and Rexel USA in a unified digital environment. This advancement will streamline operations, enhance customer visibility and control, improve project management, and ultimately deliver exceptional outcomes for our customers.”
Over the past 12 months, Parspec’s software has been successfully deployed across all of Rexel USA’s regions, with over 1,000 users generating more than 7,500 quotes and 1,000 submittal packages each month. “The enthusiasm from our associates using the platform is unprecedented,” remarked Jordan Lomheim, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Rexel USA. “Our project teams have reported meaningful benefits, including a 28% average reduction in time to quote, 52% time savings in submittal preparation, and a 7.5% increase in project bids across the company.”
That next chapter is now underway. Parspec and Rexel have begun co-developing a solution to streamline how awarded projects are managed – bringing contractors and Rexel teams onto a shared platform to coordinate on submittals, change orders, delivery timelines, and field execution. The solution will replace fragmented legacy workflows and enable real-time collaboration throughout the lifecycle of a project.
“There is a tremendous opportunity to improve efficiency and collaboration between manufacturers, distributors and contractors throughout the project lifecycle by leveraging modern web-based workflows and cutting-edge AI technology,” said Forest Flager, CEO of Parspec. “We’re excited to partner with Rexel to deliver these capabilities to the market.”
Input from Rexel’s project teams and contractor partners is actively shaping the design of the platform. Pilot engagements are already underway, and the commercial launch of Parspec’s Order Management module and Contractor Portal is expected by the end of 2025.
Take Away
Lighting is one of the most complex, and time consuming, segment of the electrical industry. Whether it is developing a quote, pulling together submittals, or managing a project … all can be time-consuming. Streamlining this process can create much capacity. Perhaps to quote more. Perhaps to do follow-up on quotes. Maybe more time to value-engineer a project or determine a pricing strategy. Further automation of a repetitive process can create capacity to quote more, if so desired, or enable more training time or, unfortunately, better manage personnel costs … especially given turnover, retirements and the time to educate new employees.
And the portal opportunity, which extends to contractors, can take the time savings opportunity to the next level. This will help answer the “where’s my lighting stuff” question to an automated level.
If lighting is important to your distribution business, perhaps inquire about this new service to streamline your lighting workflow. Click here to get a demo.
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