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More than 170 Mr. Electric electrical contractors will soon be able to pool their purchasing power with fellow franchisees and place and track orders with vendors through ProTrade Net, an e-commerce portal created by The Dwyer Group for its franchise companies in several different trades.
The Waco, Texas-based Dwyer Group, the originator of the Mr. Electric franchise concept, operates 750 franchises in several service trades, including electrical contracting, air conditioning, plumbing and glass replacement, carpet cleaning and repair, under names such as Aire Serve Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., Mr. Rooter, Mr. Appliance and Glass Doctor. There are 179 Mr. Electric franchises worldwide, including 130 in the United States, that focus on residential and light commercial electrical installation and repair.
The concept behind ProTrade Net is to get all Dwyer Group franchisees to leverage their buying power by ordering products and services through ProTrade Net’s e-commerce portal. The e-commerce portal is set to launch this month with members of Dwyer Group’s Aire Serve Heating & Air Conditioning Inc. Several Aire Serve franchises have been conducting pilot tests to fine-tune the software. Mr. Electric and the Dwyer Group’s other concepts are expected to jump on the bandwagon by January 2006.
Mike Owens, who was recently named president and director of vendor programs for ProTrade Net LLC, said once members install ProTrade Net on their computer systems, his company will be able to collect data on their purchases. He envisions that all vendors for Dwyer Group franchisees, including not only suppliers but service providers such as insurance companies, would become a part of ProTrade Net. The ultimate goal is for franchisees to go to the ProTrade Net portal to access vendors.
“The bottom line is to be able to leverage buying power,” he said. “We started drilling that down to the amount of parts and things that those franchise locations purchase on a yearly basis, and it’s pretty significant. That’s the whole thought process behind Pro Trade Net — trying to really get our hands on that data and be able to mine it properly and quantify what we’re doing out there. It goes back to leveraging our buying power with our vendors, which helps the Mr. Electric franchisee, or the perspective franchisee see the value of becoming a Mr. Electric franchise.”