An Electrical Contractor’s Headache

Electrical Contractors: Are You One Cable Short Of A Full Tool Box?

Bob Geldof must have been an electrical contractor before he hit mega stardom as a philanthropist, political commentator and musician.

The weekend’s over, the alarm goes, it’s cold and wet outside, you arrive on site, your bacon butty‘s actually just a butty, the site manager’s conducting a lengthy risk assessment because you want to move a heavy cable drum up a 5° slope and you think to yourself, “Tell me why I don’t like Mondays.”

There are numerous problems, or “patience sappers”, that electrical contractors have to contend with on a daily basis: customers changing designs and saying “I’m not paying that” when the final invoice is raised, getting clearance to go on site whilst an environmental officer conducts a carbon appraisal, or travelling 200 miles to one of your ‘faulty’ installations only to fix it by flicking a switch (“ohhh, thaaaat switch” he says!).

However, above all others what is the most common occurring problem in today’s hustle and bustle of electrical contracting?

The supply chain.

Professional contractors like to be in control, grasp the mettle, get the bull by the horns (and so on, Ed.) and events which impact on their business that are beyond their control are known to make the tops of heads expand and steam expel from the ears. These problems can take the form of late deliveries, incorrect products supplied, overpriced goods, but either directly or indirectly they usually always end up hitting the contractor where it hurts most, in their trouser pocket.

There are two things that an electrical contractor holds dearest above all others; their tools and their wallet.

Often the two are inextricably linked and for that reason when deciding upon whom to entrust with the supply of materials the important considerations are price, quality, and service. Using cables as an example, to ascertain which supplier offers the best solution usually involves contacting at least three companies so that adequate comparisons can be made.

Waiting for offers to be submitted can sometimes take lots of time and on occasions where it is late in the day or you are pulled out with work, this is time that you simply do not have.

So what do you do?

Bearing all this in mind, a company called ComparedCables was launched in October and has been developed to make the process of buying cables easier and quicker. It is an independent online marketplace for electrical cables that UK cable distributors can use to advertise their latest cable offers. The website includes features such as search by minimum order quantity or lead time to refine your enquiry to meet your requirements. Most importantly, should you log on to ComparedCables we may be able to save you money, which means less Bob and more Happy Mondays instead!

Written by Elliot Hoole

Thanks Elliot!

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