A stepping stone connecting interior contractors with manufacturers and distributors, with overnight delivery also in the works
Amid difficulties in developing new business accounts, Team Helpers Co., Ltd. (CEO Kim Hyeong-geun) has launched the building-materials brokerage platform 'AllClick' (www.allclick.co.kr/index.php), which enables sales channels to be expanded in a short time, drawing attention from small and mid-sized manufacturers and distributors (dealers) that sell materials to interior (construction) contractors.
Q. Please introduce the interior (construction) materials brokerage platform AllClick. Interior (construction) contractors face the inconvenience of having to order materials from at least 15 different suppliers for a single construction site. AllClick connects interior contractors — who pour a great deal of time and energy into comparing quotes here and there and placing material orders — with building-materials manufacturers and distributors that, given the nature of the B2B business, are always struggling to develop new accounts. Through this, interior contractors can order all their materials at optimal prices in a single online space, anytime around the clock, while manufacturers and distributors can resolve their concerns about developing new accounts. In a word, it is the concept of an online department store for building materials that serves as a stepping stone.
Q. What prompted the launch of AllClick? Over the past four years, while running an interior contractors' cooperative and engaging with more than 20,000 businesses, the biggest topic of discussion was precisely the inconvenience of the material-ordering process. In addition, because distributors and manufacturers must target businesses rather than end consumers, developing new accounts is not easy given the nature of the B2B business. We started from the idea that if manufacturers and distributors across a variety of different industries collaborate to conduct joint marketing in a single space, it would be far superior in terms of both cost and efficiency compared to going it alone.
Q. How does it differ from other platforms? Interior-related B2C platforms have been mainstream for a long time, and major building-materials companies also operate consumer-facing B2C shopping malls through their own online stores. However, while several interior (construction) materials B2B platforms have launched recently, they are still at a very early stage. Platform businesses fundamentally impose no special qualification requirements for participation, so it is very easy to join, but most operate on a comparative-quote model in which numerous sellers join and compete against one another on price. On AllClick, only one company per industry — and, for major-brand materials, one company per brand — can join and sell, so there is no comparative quoting and no price competition among companies in the same industry. Being onboarded onto the AllClick platform means being able to expand one's business on an industry-exclusive basis to interior contractors across at least Seoul and Gyeonggi, and further across the entire country.
In addition, while material procurement is the core business, the AllClick platform also provides services that interior (construction) contractors cannot handle on their own, such as connections to top-tier installers and an academy. On top of that, it is a comprehensive platform that simultaneously serves a community role, such as sharing interior-business information among contractors. We believe that the carefully selected member companies' competitive products, optimal prices, and — most importantly — the hands-on experience of the AllClick operating team, which understands contractors' pain points better than anyone through running an interior contractors' cooperative of more than 900 members, give it a tremendous edge over other platform companies.
Q. What advantages are there for the building-materials manufacturers and distributors that join? Small and mid-sized manufacturers and distributors typically develop sales channels by participating in construction trade fairs to promote themselves to unspecified interior contractors. This requires investing hundreds of millions of won in related costs each year, and the labor costs are far from trivial. Joining AllClick is like participating in a trade fair 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, targeting the thousands of businesses that visit AllClick — all at minimal cost.
Given the nature of B2B building-materials distribution, outstanding receivables are the biggest concern for manufacturers and distributors. Because AllClick processes material payments through escrow, no unpaid receivables can arise, and it charges no commission for a certain period until sales grow rapidly enough to lower manufacturing and purchasing unit costs. Furthermore, logistics issues involving high fixed costs — such as delivery and warehouse operation — can be resolved through joint-logistics cooperation among AllClick member companies. Currently, the cooperation with member companies has secured thousands of businesses with high purchasing power alone, and we are actively conducting sales through our database of more than 20,000 interior contractors, so companies that join by industry and by brand can grow their business scale in a short time. In other words, think of it as making exclusive item-by-item entry into an online department store for building materials that all interior (construction) contractors in Korea will use, and immediately selling your materials to thousands of accounts.
Q. How can one join the platform? Prospective participants can join only after being screened through an on-site company inspection that assesses factors such as price competitiveness and the caliber of their installation teams. At present, most major materials are already onboarded, so a prior inquiry about the possibility of joining is required.
Q. What are your future plans? The building-materials distribution market has a structure that makes it difficult for any single large company to monopolize. This is because, by nature, building materials are heavy and bulky, making them hard to ship by ordinary parcel delivery, and many materials must be linked to installation as well. Recently, even the food-ingredient market — hard to move online because prices differ between morning and afternoon — and the Dongdaemun wholesale market have already been digitalized via mobile. We believe the building-materials distribution market holds ample potential as well. The existing logistics market is undergoing yet another wave of innovation driven by AI and big data. Through cooperation with such companies, we believe the building-materials logistics market can join this wave of innovation. For example, AllClick is preparing overnight delivery of building materials. We aim to resolve the logistics costs of small distributors through joint regional warehouses, and to overcome the shortcomings of being online through warehouse-style joint stores operated at the metropolitan-city level.
Q. What effects can consumers expect? An interior (construction) product depends on how good the materials are and how diligent and vetted the installer who carried out the work was. In effect, the interior (construction) contractor plays the role of controlling the entire process. That is how important material quality and installation quality are. Information about the interior market is now sufficiently open, so a simple search reveals everything from material prices to labor costs. Put another way, with material prices and labor costs all exposed, one could say contractors' profit margins have shrunk. From the consumer's perspective, this brings transparency to the interior market, but from the contractor's perspective, there is a risk that, in order to maintain a minimum profit margin, they may purchase low-cost materials and use unvetted labor, which could lead to shoddy work. For the market to become one in which no one is harmed, manufacturers and distributors must reduce their logistics and sales-promotion costs to produce good-quality materials at good prices, contractors must purchase competitive materials through the platform to make a reasonable profit, and consumers must be repaid in the form of good materials and good workmanship.
Q. Any final words? A business does not fail only when it properly follows the flow of the times and knows just how far ahead to stay. Currently, 90% of the building-materials market conducts transactions offline — that is, in the traditional way — but every other distribution market is changing rapidly. Before long, the building-materials market too will change, regardless of anyone's will. AllClick aims to be the first flap of the butterfly's wings. As a company leading the digitalization of building materials, we want to be a company that solves the problems on both sides: for manufacturer and distributor owners struggling with sales channels, and for interior (construction) contractors grappling with the difficulty of purchasing competitive materials and the absence of other services (such as top-tier installers). True to the company name Team Helpers, we will play the role of a helper that assists both sellers and buyers to grow together. 1577-8201
