Project Registration-Navigating the Unknown

RMR Opportunities to Expand and Sustain Your Business

I was having a discussion the other day with a manufacturer’s representative and asked if they had a “Project Registration” model to assist integrators who specified their product in a large open bid. His answer was yes.

But when he explained their process, I was shocked! They do not give the discount when you purchase the product but rather provide a rebate after the job is complete.

This is important for you to know because if you spec a job with a certain manufacturer thinking you’ll get an edge over the competition when you register the job, you may find out you are mistaken. Integrators should think twice about specifying a vendor that uses this model of registration because it brings a host of new questions, including how and when the rebate is received and how sales staff can be paid in this situation.

Most manufacturers’ project registration process provides for a discount on the front-end so it allows you to provide a more competitive bid with a discount of 5 points of margin or more on the equipment specified. This method is more appealing because it’s all done on the front-end and it’s the norm in the industry.

Another variation of project registration that strays from the typical model allows for more than one company to register the job with the same discount, the difference is the manufacture will only perform a site visit with the first company that registers the job.

The bottom line is that you need to do your homework on the manufacturer you’re partnering with and know their process before you spend a lot of time on engineering and specifying any particular product into a project.

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