By Charles H. Gamarekian
Chairman/CEO Cambridge Pavers Inc.

As the 2005 season opens, I am pleased to announce that we are implementing significant technological improvements in the process of manufacturing and packaging Cambridge Pavingstones here at Cambridge Center. Various stages in the development of these advancements have been in the works over the last 36 months and are the result of a multi-million dollar capital improvement plan.
These are some of the highlights:
New state-of-the-art equipment has been installed in Plant 1 for vertical strapping and horizontal banding designed to improve overall packaging consolidation. In addition, a new advanced mold design and grid technology system enables us to provide both aesthetically and technically advanced antiqued, distressed pavers from The Cambridge Renaissance Collection crafted with EuroTec. You can read more about this and other EuroTec advantages in an upcoming issue.

A New No Banding Policy Adopted To Better Serve You
Effective: March 1, 2005
Our primary role as a responsible manufacturer is to provide a quality product, offer technical and marketing support and push product through the distribution channels as efficiently as possible. Our Authorized Cambridge Distributors are an integral part of this process and because of this, we respect our distributors by only selling Cambridge products through our Authorized Distributor Network. To this day, Cambridge remains the only paver manufacturer in North America who will not sell directly to consumers and contractors. To bring this point closer to home, every other manufacturer in the New York, Mid-Atlantic and New England markets will and does sell directly to your contractor and homeowner customers.

As you know, we have always attempted to accommodate our distributors and their contractor-customers by also offering some of our paver shapes by the band. This accommodation — not within normal roles of a manufacturer — has caused pick-up delays at Cambridge Center, as trucks cannot always be loaded in a timely and efficient manner. The immediate impacts and long-term effects have been felt on the supply side from order taking to fulfillment and all along the supply chain.

In an effort to maintain the level of service that distributors, drivers and contractors have become accustomed to for almost ten years, our open policy of also selling by the band has been discontinued. Although the majority of Cambridge Distributors do not order Cambridge Pavingstones in bands, a few distributors still frequently request bands. Prior to making our decision to no longer offer Cambridge Pavingstones by the band, we personally contacted our twenty largest distributors to address their comments and concerns. Most did not respond with resistance and indeed, readily supported the change in policy. Once the advantages were presented to them along with the reasons behind our business decision, everyone made a positive commitment to also opening cubes and selling by the band and by the piece.

We are confident that embracing this change is a win/win for all of us… especially our customers!

Here are a few ideas:
1. Create a distributor / contractor partnership. Establish a service-oriented strategic relationship that builds loyalty. Our surveys indicate that many professional contractors will not only choose a preferred distributor based on “in-stock availability” of popular shapes and colors, but also on the basis of “product availability from open cubes”.

Show your regular contractor-customers that you are willing to stock Cambridge Pavingstones in the shapes and colors they recommend and use the most. I know that it is difficult to open cubes for every shape and color in your yard. But you can tell contractors that you will offer their most common selections in open cubes to make their selling job easier. Let’s say that a homeowner suggests less than popular shapes for an installation that does not require full cubes of pavers (example: Cobble III with 4 x 4). The contractor — knowing that he must purchase a full cube of those pavers from you and then store the remaining pavers — has to build the cost of the cube into his estimate. By recommending an alternative that he can buy in the exact quantity required for the project, he can offer the customer a more attractive price.

Feedback on popular shapes and colors from our distributors and contractors, along with our internal sales monitoring systems, also helps us on the manufacturing side. This data enables us to modify our product line in the future to include only shapes and colors that reflect the wants and needs of our customers.

2. A new “Profit Center”. It should be noted that The Cambridge Renaissance Collection has always been sold in full cubes only. Despite this, our 6 x 9 Renaissance pavers in Toffee/Onyx have become our biggest selling shape and color. To take advantage of their popularity, most distributors are eager to also break down cubes to accommodate customers’ requests — a procedure that we at Cambridge encourage. As you know, there was a surcharge from Cambridge for banding. With your own banding operation on premises, you can establish your own pricing for this valuable custom service.

3. An expanded market. When you also sell by the band and by the piece, it’s easier to compete with the large Home Centers who are attracting new homeowners and contractors all the time by accommodating their customers this way. Why not display pavers the way you show other material such as blue stone, natural stone, clay brick and virtually every other retail item… by the unit? Here’s another suggestion: simply keep broken cubes visible at the front of each row of pavers you stock in specific colors and shapes. Then use signs to promote your value pricing and in-stock availability by the square foot and/or by the piece.

Setting up a banding operation. We realize that you must offer product in bands to contractors. This can be accomplished two ways. Put full cubes on wooden pallets and open the cubes so the pavers are ready to sell as open stock, by the band or piece. Or an easier solution may be to set up a conveyor table on legs with rollers and a clamp. Place a cube on the table and open it. Separate and remove the pavers with the clamp and set onto a pallet. Then return the open cube to your inventory. Note that the conveyor table may be useful in handling other items as well.

Let’s take this important step together. Contact your Cambridge Sales Specialist to discuss these ideas in more detail. (top)