Software for Hardware Releases 2022-2024 Industry Forecast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA, GA (May 9th, 2022) Software for Hardware announces the publication of its latest whitepaper, Industry Outlook 2022 – 2024. This compilation of both quantitative and qualitative research focuses on the challenges currently facing the industry and distributors’ opinions on how these issues will evolve in the coming years.
Specifically, the research explores the business impact of COVID, supply chain disruption and labor shortage. Throughout the past two years, these issues have impacted small businesses across the country including door, frame and hardware distributors.
Software for Hardware sponsored this research and began with a series of roundtable discussions involving the SFH Customer Council in February and March 2022. In April, the research expanded to an online survey sent to over 600 distributors nationwide.The research presented in this whitepaper also involved a review of previously published academic research.
Door, frame and hardware distributors reported supply chain disruptions as the most significant issue. Mitch Lazar, President of Rapid Door & Trim, describes delivery disruptions and severe delays in fulfilling purchase orders. Lazar shared, “We have some wood door manufacturers who are not taking orders for the balance of 2022.” Although the supply chain created this most turmoil for distributors, the challenge of staffing the right individuals has become very prevalent within the past year and does not appear to improve.
Many door, frame, and hardware professionals further stress the difficulty of finding new hires with industry knowledge or experience. The decades-long decline of young people entering the trades, versus choosing college, has left the industry with a shortage of young workers to replace retirees. Members of the SFH Customer Council, commented that the industry needs to do more to recruit young professionals into the door industry.
Through the woes of the supply chain, labor shortages, and a pandemic – technology has been a monumental resource for businesses large and small. Approximately 40% of distributors surveyed reported that technology did help them better manage both labor shortages and supply chain issues. While we as individual business owners can not make the supply chain better, or solve an industry wide labor crisis, we can think outside of the box and pursue new creative strategies. Try new ideas and break “old school” models.
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For more information on Software for Hardware products and services simply visit https://softwareforhardware.com/ or contact info@softwareforhardware.com
Based in Atlanta, GA since 1998, Software for Hardware provides software to commercial door, frame and hardware distributors across the U.S. and Canada. Nearly 1,000 door industry professionals rely on Software for Hardware to improve their business efficiency, client responsiveness, and bottom line profitability. As a result, Software for Hardware has become the fastest growing software in the industry and the software of choice for door distributors.
