Include your Customers in your Construction Materials Scheduling
PlantDemand is an extremely efficient scheduling software for asphalt, concrete, and aggregates. Our users see great benefits in scheduling construction materials, with the customer portal your customers can now also be involved in the planning process. With PlantDemand you can offer your customers a private portal to request construction materials and to track their approval status. This function is to help initiate and facilitate communication for the ordering process between you and your customers.
By seeing the calendar you can streamline your dispatch and reduce redundant communication – “Are you open tomorrow?”, “What Materials are you making” become a thing of the past. Utilizing the Customer Portal to initiate orders is a great way to gather information ahead of time, so that you can plan your operation effectively.
How it Works
First, you should allow some of your fields on the order form to be seen by the Customer. This will let them enter information needed by you and your team.
Go to the Settings (gear) tab > Order Form
Select which fields you would like visible to your customers.
Next, you will invite customers of your choice to the plant.
Go to the Settings (gear) tab > Customers > Add Customer.
Your customer will receive an email invitation.
Customers can now view your calendar. They can see what days your plant is running, or selling Asphalt, Concrete, or Aggregates. They can also see what other materials you are planning to sell. They will not be able to see who, how much or other specific information about your other orders. The requests will be shown with a white line through the pill marking it as “Tentative”, until someone from your plant reviews and approves the request. Then it will show as a solid pill.
Frequently Asked Question:
Q: Do our customers have to order materials through PlantDemand?
A: No, depending on your operation, the relationship with your customers, you can decide which people you want to invite as Customers. They should still communicate with your sales personnel or designated person.
Q: Does the customer fill out the order form and then just come to the plant?
A: No, the customer portal should be used as a tool to facilitate and initiate communication. It should be used to allow your customer to get you the information you need, so that the majority of the order entry work is done ahead of time.
Q: What benefit does this give to our customer?
A: One of the greatest benefits to your customer is their ability to see what days you are making certain products, whether you are open or have a better chance of being open, and to give you important information. This will help inform your customers, and help them plan their schedule to work with the plants, ultimately saving them and you money by grouping mix and production together.
Q: Do the customers see utilization, other orders or plant reports?
A: The customers only see a limited calendar, which does not show the orders of other customers and does not reveal production quantities of your plant. Customers will not receive email reports (Daily Dispatches), and cannot access your plants reports or settings.
Q: What can the customers see on the order form
A: The customers will be able to see the materials list for your plant, they will be able to set dates and shifts and tonnage they need, and will be able to fill in information into the forms that you mark as viewable in Settings > Order Form for your plant
Visit https://plantdemand.com to get started!
Keywords: Asphalt Plant, Asphalt Production, Asphalt Scheduling, Concrete Plant, Concrete Production, Concrete Scheduling, Aggregate Plant, Aggregate Plant Scheduling
