Why the Building Materials Industry Is Ripe for a Data-Driven Shift
In an age where nearly every industry—from retail to logistics to hospitality—has undergone major digital transformation, the building materials world has been slower to evolve. Not for lack of innovation, but because the tools haven’t always fit the way this industry actually works.
That’s changing. And not a moment too soon.
The industry runs on materials, but decisions run on data
Most distributors and retailers in this space have solid systems in place for tracking inventory, placing orders, and managing logistics. But what about the gray areas—like what happens on the showroom floor? What happens when a customer interacts with a sample? Or when a rep hands one off during a site visit?
Those moments matter. They’re where interest turns into intent—and where follow-up can make or break a sale.
But for most companies, those touchpoints disappear. They’re untracked, unmanaged, and unmeasured.
That’s not just a gap. It’s an opportunity.
What’s missing? Visibility into the pre-sale journey
In more modernized industries, the customer journey is monitored from first click to final checkout. Every interaction is captured, analyzed, and fed back into the business to drive smarter decisions.
In building materials? We track the purchase, but not the process that led to it.
That disconnect is what holds so many teams back from improving:
Sales reps can’t follow up effectively
Showrooms can’t identify high-performing SKUs
Brands don’t know what’s moving—or why
The tech isn’t the issue. It’s the fit.
This industry hasn’t resisted digital transformation because it’s unwilling. It’s resisted because the tech built for other sectors doesn’t translate cleanly here.
Most modern retail tools assume fast transactions, single-location inventories, or online-first engagement.
But building materials work differently:
Sales cycles are longer
Inventory is more physical and more distributed
Engagement happens in person, with reps, over time
So the tools have to match the workflow—not disrupt it.
The shift is already starting
Quietly, behind the scenes, leading brands and distributors are beginning to rethink how data is captured and used at the showroom level.
They’re asking better questions:
How can we turn product interest into usable insight?
How do we make samples work harder for us?
How do we support sales teams with tools—not track them with software?
And the answers don’t come from traditional retail tech. They come from tools built specifically for this sector, with the nuances of the showroom, rep, and product lifecycle in mind.
Haystack is here for the industry, not just for the trends.
At Haystack, we’ve spent decades inside the building materials world through our roots in the SI Group. We’ve seen the gaps firsthand. The untracked samples. The handwritten notes. The leads that were there—but never followed up on.
Our job isn’t just to build software. It’s to build smarter systems that work with the industry, without expecting the industry to change who it is. Because data shouldn’t get in the way. It should make the way forward clearer. This industry doesn’t need to become something it’s not. It just needs tools that respect how it works, and reveal what’s been missing all along.
