Challenge
To develop better management and compliance processes for their large network of installation partners.
As a rapidly growing company, Ferguson was regularly bringing on more third party installation contractors. With their existing internal systems, they were lacking a repository for easily tracking and viewing their legal risk documentation for each job.
Ferguson's internal process at that time functioned more like a 'chat' or posting system that detailed what contractors were supposed to do — but there were no checks or balances, and no central place to store and view all this critical information to ensure each job was legally covered.
The team at Ferguson outlined all the gaps that their new technology platform needed to fill. After speaking with twelve different companies, they narrowed their choices down to four contenders — ultimately deciding on Worksuite as the best option for their needs.
"We gave our dedicated account manager at Worksuite our list of what we needed, and they made everything look and feel how we wanted. Other companies just seemed more 'out of the box, here's what it does, take it or leave it'." — Scott King, National Install Manager, Ferguson
Solution
A flexible solution to keep their growing installation partner network organized.
Ferguson found implementation and onboarding with Worksuite to be a smooth process. But with 110 managers and a network of 1500 installation partners, gathering all the necessary information and documents for contractors and compliance took time.
"Not only did Worksuite fill the majority of our needs out of the gate, they had the flexibility to say, 'Hey, we don't have that, but we can build it and customize it to your needs.'" — Scott King, National Install Manager, Ferguson
"Our dedicated account manager is fabulous. He's been hand in hand, side by side, helping make sure that we had good training and good knowledge. If something doesn't work, he can dive in pretty quick." — Scott King, National Install Manager, Ferguson
Result
Peace of mind that all installation partners and jobs keep compliant at every step.
Once Ferguson had implemented the Worksuite platform, they began to notice results in the form of cost savings and the ability to locate specific paperwork and information quickly.
With the centralized platform, Ferguson could now see at a glance which teams they had in place, how they were using them, and which jobs they were working on at any given time.
"Now I can go on the system and tell you what's going on pretty much anywhere." — Scott King, National Install Manager, Ferguson
Worksuite made it easy to ensure that every contractor had background checks completed with a third-party checker integration, and that every job was covered from start to finish — ensuring the safety of both Ferguson and their customers.
"We have peace of mind and security that we've done all of the checks and balances on everybody that we're sending into a home. Whether they're our own in-house employee or a third party, they're all treated the same. We don't want to put a customer at risk." — Scott King, National Install Manager, Ferguson
The biggest difference for Ferguson was having transparency and visibility into all the jobs that were taking place at any given time. Since implementing Worksuite for their installation teams, other parts of Ferguson's business have been interested in looking at using the platform.
Ferguson is the largest distributor of plumbing supplies, PVF, waterworks and fire and fabrication products in the USA. They manage around 1500 install partners and serve customers in all 50 states, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.