WELCOME

This enterprise progressed quickly from humble,‘tie-up-loose-ends’ builder support service beginnings, initially serving  Vancouver’s North Shore ‘upscale’ home builders.  In time, what began as a home-based enterprise became an industry-unique,

 

Initially, this only dealt with the variety of tasks traditional trades would miss or could not promptly return to (e.g., re-framing for a plumber’s change order).  Before long, the assignment list was extended, much of it falling outside traditional, trades-person mandates, including small building projects (garages/ gazebos, patio decks), landscape work, or preparing a site for sidewalks and driveways. 

 

Within a year, the nature and need of this highly fragmented and disorganized industry sector were exposed.  Although some customers were large, many, as independent builders, suffered from inefficiencies.  Most of the smaller builders faced limited purchasing clout.  Few could compete with their large, national and international construction company counterparts.

 

Findex Purchasing Services Limited was my initial response.  It began as a ‘one-man show’, a tiny purchasing agency.  With builder-contractor relationships in hand, it was not a hard sell.  In whole or in part, most accepted the common-sense proposal of:

 

“You stay on-site, supervising your trades.
And I’ll hustle for the best deal.  Pay me
3 to 6 percent of the purchase price and
I’ll guarantee a savings of at least ten!”  

 

The business soon took shape, establishing a ‘membership subscription’ service model, delivering the advantages of improved efficiency and greater buying power.  Increasingly Findex became a support office for these smallish independent builders, helping them to grow their companies and coordinating their collective purchasing.

 

This was all long before the Internet, laptops and cell phones.