How to Plan Ahead to
Secure Your Plant
Materials
1/15/00

By Tom Ewing
Branch Manager Miramar Wholesale
Nurseries, San Diego, CA

With our industry seemingly as busy as ever, landscape contractors are challenging every aspect of their business to the limit. Time is of the essence, multiple jobs become balancing acts, and backlog pressures are ever-present. So, the last thing a contractor needs is difficulties with materials procurement. And of all things, what’s happened to the supply of plant materials?

In the past, possibly plant materials were not available via your first nursery call, and maybe your second. But now, it seems no amount of calls can locate that specific variety, or, that needed quantity. Consistency and uniformity has taken a second seat to just simply finding the product. Lately, cash isn’t even king — it’s simply a matter of demand exceeding supply.

Why? Many factors have contributed to the current market shortage of ornamentals and trees. First, the prolonged recession of the late 80’s and early 90’s caused nursery inventories to recede as the nursery industry sold off inventory for cash to sustain operational expense. New production requirements were unpredictable and cash flows could not support the building of inventories. Second, these same recession years were hard on the green plant industry. Many nurseries closed or ceased operations. Certainly, the industry saw few new businesses start up. Third, it has taken every resource the state’s major nurseries have to fuel the tremendous growth of the warehouse retail industry nation wide. Maybe their inventories would never be sold directly to the landscaper, but they sold shifting needs to those who did. Without their inventories, and the demise to warehouse competition of the many independent retailers that served gardeners and institutions, the industry is suffering through a shortage that many feel is unprecedented.

So how does the contractor effectively complete its backlog of projects with a shortage of one if its major component supply items, plant materials? Here are a few thoughts to consider.

First, wherever possible, plan ahead. Work with designers or architects at the conceptual stage. Far too much material in this market is being specified without regard to availability. Contractors and nurseries alike need to over-communicate with decision-makers at the time of project design. Careful consideration to market availability must be provided during the project’s conceptual stage so materials are specified that the market can supply. If this can not be done, attempts must be made to provide for specific production.

Contract growing, when project lead-time permits, is a process that most nurseries accommodate. Usually with a deposit, nurseries can produce materials contractually so that quantity and consistency can be preserved for job time. Product can be inspected throughout the growing process to insure contractor’s requirements will be met.

Another discipline should be to surface plant material shortages ahead of time so alternates can be approved and procured. Most nurseries can assist with this process. Documenting the anticipated shortages, or plant list shortcomings, is important as a means to notify owners and architects so that alternatives can be surfaced prior to meeting last minute timetables.

A concept referred to as a modified growing contract might also be a consideration. In many cases, nurseries can be motivated to be your procurement agent. Providing one supplier all, or a large part, of your project plant list motivates them to use various means to fulfill your plant list. A larger order can be a combination of material specifically grown, brokered in and maintained to job time, and tied from existing inventory. Even when a nursery does not have the entire order in stock, many nurseries can procure materials most effectively by using its own network of plant material suppliers, combine them with varieties in stock, then maintain the entire order until job time.

Product deposits to hold materials. In this market, when plant materials can be sold almost immediately when ready, nurseries are not going to want to hold materials for any length of time. Find ways to offer deposits to make them comfortable with holding.

Competitive pressures make this option difficult, but today’s bidding might have to factor higher procurement costs. Remember that plant materials are living items and are sold as commodities. In this type of market, nurseries are going to sell to the highest bidder. An additional twist to this exists today. The nursery industry is alive with new, exciting introductions. These introductions are being effectively marketed in many industry venues. This marketing is attracting the interest of designers and architects who are specifying these new varieties in their projects. New introductions are often proprietary. If not, they are not yet plentiful on the market. These varieties must be isolated when developing bid pricing as the varieties often command a pricing premium and can squeeze contractors who bid them unknowingly.

Industry inventories are improving, but whatever the market, the architect, contractor, and supplier can all benefit by planning ahead, communicating, and working as a team.